


Fatherly Bonds

by Jordevio



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, OCs for the story, Tags to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:07:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24383287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jordevio/pseuds/Jordevio
Summary: Ren Amamiya is a half American, half Japanese teenager who got forcibly moved to Japan with his mother after a messy divorce with his father. His mother, however, being hyper demanding led to Ren leaning on his father for support, who gladly offered it, even after his son's arrest.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 21
Kudos: 115





	1. Chapter 1

Ren Amamiya thought his life couldn’t get any worse after moving to Japan with his mother 2 years ago. His rough Japanese isolating himself from his peers early on in his Japanese High School career. His mother and his grandparents being hyper demanding of his grades did not help at all. Focusing all his attention on keeping his grades up and improving his Japanese didn’t allow for him to socialize much. He felt truly alone with none of his American friends anywhere close by. His only hope over the last two years being his weekly calls with his father. His father being the only person to listen to Ren’s fears and plights during his new Japanese life. His mom might have forced him to change his last name when moving to Japan, due to her hating any mention of his father in her house, but in Ren’s mind, he was still a Matthews. 

Ren’s depression was kept in check by his father. His dad asked him what he’s been doing aside from studying, talking about movies or tv shows they had seen that week, or even what they had to eat that day. The amount of care his dad showed his son despite being on the other side of the world made Ren truly appreciate what he had. Sure school and home life were a mess for him, but his dad would always be there to hear him out and help him through his worst moments. 

Even his arrest. 

4/9

It was early in the morning when Ren sat on a bench at the Hiroshima train station. Waiting on his train to arrive to take him to his new home in Tokyo. He was calling with his father to pass the time until his train arrived.

“I’m a little nervous living with a guy I’ve never met. You sure about this dad?” Ren asked his father.

“More than sure, Sojiro is a good man. He’ll probably be a hard ass around ya but deep down he cares. Made sure he knew your situation when I asked him, was more than willing to help foster you through your probation.” Tom told his son. 

Ren sighed in relief, his dad was always a good judge of character, so if one of his father’s friends was offering to house him then he thought it best not to question it. It had been a month since his arrest, despite video evidence of the incident existing, the evidence was thrown out of court due to it being ‘Unlawful surveillance’ or some shit. The entire case lasted little over 2 days as Ren’s mother refused to fight for her son, refusing to believe his story despite the footage. His father believed him through every detail even without the footage. Tom knew his son and knew he couldn’t hurt anyone. Though Tom thought more about his son’s safety after the case than the verdict itself. 

“So dad, can you tell me why you told me not to go to the media with the footage? You’ve been super vague about it since I brought up the idea.” Ren asked his father, still dumbfounded at the denial of his idea. 

Tom sighed sadly over the phone before he responded. “Whoever you stopped from assaulting that woman clearly is in a position of power that he abuses. He was able to get his name taken off court documents and frame you for an assault you never did. If the footage got to the media they would instantly figure out who it was from the voice alone. I don’t want to risk him being exposed and sending his attack dogs out on you to silence you before you say anymore. Once your probation is over I’m moving you back here to Hawaii with me. That way we can take it to the media without risk of being attacked by that scumbag.” 

Ren pondered over the reasoning for a moment. It made a lot of sense to him, sure it sounded straight out of a mafia crime drama, but it made sense. Of course the man who framed him would try and silence him if he tried to expose him through the media. Probably for the best he just tries and lay low for the time being and gets his probation done with. Ren stood up as his train slowly approached. 

“Alright dad my train is here, I’ll message you when I get to Tokyo and settle in.” Ren said as he walked into his train. 

“Gotcha. Stay safe son.” Tom said as he hung up.

Ren took a seat as the train almost immediately got to a start to Tokyo. Ren took the chance to doze off in the uncomfortable chair of the train, the repetitive sounds of the train speeding down the tracks providing a much needed silence in his life.

-

As Ren arrived in Yongen-Jaya he immediately booked it looking for a Cafe Leblanc, his father telling him that’s probably where Sojiro would be at that time of day. He didn’t want to think about what he saw in the Shibuya Square, thinking he just was low on sleep and needed to get to his new home ASAP. 

Ren found the cafe and took a step inside, seeing an older man in an apron doing a crossword with an older couple in the booth in front of him. The TV in the back of the cafe blaring some news channel that Ren didn’t care about. Ren walked up to the bar of the cafe to try and get the man’s attention, assuming this was Sojiro Sakura. The man glanced back at Ren, looking a little shocked when he got a good look at his face. 

“Oh right that was today…” 

The older couple thanked Sojiro for the coffee and made their way out.  
“6 hours for a single cup of joe…” Sojiro said, sighing, “So, you’re Tom’s kid, Ren right?”

“Yeah that’s me, assuming you’re Sakura-san right?” 

“Just call me Boss, most people who come here do. Come on, your luggage is upstairs.” Sojiro motioned Ren to follow him up the stairs to what would be his new abode. Ren was a little shocked at how cluttered it was but he could clean it himself, which would give him something to do today anyway. 

“It’s big. I’ll clean it myself, I need something to kill time anyway.” Ren said while putting his bag down on the nearby table. 

Sojiro looked shocked at this but shook it off quickly. He went over a couple of ground rules he had for when Ren would be in his custody. Ren listened and took note of all of them, sounding pretty standard to what he was used to. As Sojiro finished he asked if Ren had any questions. To which Ren only had one he could think of on the spot.

“So how do you know my dad?” Ren asked him, despite being prepared to live in the man’s cafe for the next year, he still wanted to know his relation to his family.

“Oh you’re just curious about that? I met Tom 20 years ago, when he was stationed here in the military. You probably don’t remember me since you were only 4 last time I saw you, but I actually visited Hawaii to meet your father since he had recently been promoted in his job and wanted some advice from a friend. You were only up to my knee at the time.” Sojiro chuckled as he mentioned that last part. Probably because of how tall Ren had become since then. Ren got a lot of his features from his mom, such as his eyes and hair. But his height and attitude was all from his dad. 

“Well that’s good to know. I’ll get to work cleaning all this then. I’ll try to not make much noise while I do it.” Ren bowed to Sojiro saying all this. Sojiro let out a content grunt and made his way back down to the cafe to tend to the customer that had come in. 

-

After what seemed like hours, Ren finished cleaning his room. Sojiro came up to congratulate him and remind him that they were heading to Shujin the next morning to introduce him to his teachers and principal. Sojiro then left Ren to his own devices and closed up the Cafe. Ren took a seat on his bed and checked his phone, no messages from his mother and 1 from his father, figures. 

_D: Are you settling in alright? Sojiro give you any grief?_

_R: I’ve settled in pretty well. Sojiro seemed to take a liking to me pretty instantly actually, probably reminds him of you. He gave me the entire attic space of his cafe to live in. It’s pretty big but the bed could be better._

_D: Well that’s good to hear, if Sojiro does give you any shit be sure to tell me so I can give him an earful._

Ren let out a little laugh at that response. His dad wasn't one to yell but when he was upset he would talk, a lot, so Sojiro would be listening to Tom rave at him for well over 10 minutes without break.

_R: I'll keep that in mind. The cafe smells of really good coffee, way better than the instant stuff I've been drinking last few years._

_D: Oh Sojiro's coffee is fantastic. He's a really connoisseur when it comes to his coffee, always makes a special blend for all his customers. Last business trip I went on I visited and every customer that came in got their own blend, it's what makes me confident Sojiro will take good care of you. Cause if he's that caring for his customers, just think of how caring he is for his friend's kid._

_R: Well that put a lot more confidence in me with this. Thanks for that dad._

_D: No problem buddy. It's currently 3am here so I'm gonna hit the hay. I suggest you do too. Good night Ren._

_R: Gotcha, night dad._

Ren put his phone down before hearing it ping again, seeing the Red Eye app on his phone again. Quickly deleting it without much thought aside from being slightly creeped out at how it got on his phone again. Ren had more important things to think about. This probation might be a good thing for him in the long run. His Japanese was a lot better compared to when he first moved to Japan so his social life could start out on a much better foot. He had a more than lax guardian so he could be left to his own devices to do what he loved instead of being forced to do constant studying by his mother. The reason might have sucked but things were looking up for Ren, things could only get better from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is a little something I thought up after reading a bunch of fics that never seemed to have Ren have a healthy relationship with his father. As a kid who's been through a lot of divorces on his mother's side my dad has always been my support and I wanted to see Ren with that kind of support pillar as well. Don't worry about the tags btw, there will be some good Shumako fluff later in the story, just wanted to set up Ren's relationship with his father for the first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as things look up, they come crashing back down.

4/12

Things had not gotten better. Not only had Ren been late to school by a full 4 hours on his first day, but his arrest had leaked out to the entire school, meaning his social life once again was shot in the foot the instant he arrived at a new school, again. That wasn't the worst of it, on his first day of school he had nearly died when entering a mysterious castle in another world. He barely escaped with his life thanks to a cat like creature named Morgana. It wasn't all bad, however, in that world he gained a special power known as a Persona, his taking form in a red coated demon named Arsène. The cat creature also had this power in the form of an almost balloon like caricature of the legendary outlaw, Zorro. Possibly the best development of the past few days however was Ryuji Sakamoto, Ren's first friend he had ever made in Japan. Ren took a liking to Ryuji almost instantly, he reminded him of himself, not afraid to speak his mind to authority figures and being a really good person at heart who was just misunderstood. Ryuji had awoken to his Persona in today's visit of the Castle, a skeletal pirate riding a boat like a skateboard, named after the legendary pirate Captain Kidd. The entire experience left Ren and Ryuji exhausted however which lead them to grabbing dinner at a nearby beef bowl shop. 

There Ren told his story of his arrest to Ryuji, from the filming of the incident to his charging with assault. 

"That's such bullshit! There was video evidence you did nothing wrong and you still got charged!? How does that even happen!?" Ryuji yelled out in anger.

Ren motioned his hand down to try and get Ryuji to lower his voice a bit, "I'm not sure but that convinced me that whoever I pissed off has some serious power that I don't wanna mess with. I tried suggesting going to the media with the footage as they could figure out who it was from voice alone but my dad shot that down." Ren spoke in a hushed tone, trying to avoid looks from other patrons of the restaurant. 

Ryuji looked incredible shocked and annoyed at the last part of Ren's statement. "What the hell? Why did your old man say that? Does he not want your name cleared!?" 

Ren sighed as he took off his glasses. "My dad wants my name cleared more than anything, but he's also a really smart guy when it comes to people and he read this dude like a book from the footage I have. He can tell this guy is in some position of power that allowed him to pull strings like that. If I went to the media they'd figure out who that guy is as if it were nothing. Once he would be exposed he would surely come after me and silence me before I said anything else. However, when my probation ends my dad told me he's bringing me back to Hawaii so I can release the footage there without fear of retribution."

Ryuji gave Ren a defeated look and said, "Damn, your dad sounds like he's trying his best to just keep you safe then.

Wait...

Did you say back to Hawaii?"

Ren remembered that despite being half Caucasian he didn't really look it, so it was a surprise when anyone ever learned he was half Japanese. "Oh, right. See I'm actually from America, Hawaii to be exact. Parents went through a messy divorce when I was 14 and my mom got custody and moved me out here. My dad has still been a major part of my life and has probably kept me sane these last two years. Mom and my grandparents were always demanding and never really treated me like a person. Just a student that had to get perfect grades or I'd be a disgrace. My dad was the only one to ask me how I was after all this, and we kept talking at least once a week since I moved here. He's the one who actually found me a place to stay here in Tokyo to serve out my probation since my mother wanted nothing to do with me."

Ryuji looked at Ren with his mouth agape, Ren expected this reaction and laughed to himself. 

"DUDE YOU'RE FROM HAWAII!? THAT'S AWESOME! Does that mean you speak English?" Ryuji asked with excitement in his voice. 

Ren always had to rewire his brain somewhat in order to speak his two fluent tongues, thoughts could be in English while he meant to speak Japanese and vice versa. When he didn't get his thoughts and spoken words in the same tongue it would lead to his brain just not getting any words out of his mouth. Ren got his thoughts sorted out and transitioned into English.

"Why yes Ryuji, English is actually my native language." Ren spoke, no doubt getting looks from the people beside him hearing hyper fluent English coming from this 16 year old.

Ryuji stared blankly at Ren saying, "As cool as that is, the only thing I understood from it was my name so please just speak Japanese around me man..." 

Ren let out a hearty laugh as he transitioned his thoughts back to Japanese. 

"You got it man." Ren said in Japanese.

Ren finished his beef bowl and thanked Ryuji for the meal, it was his idea after all. Despite it all, Ren felt so much relief making friends with Ryuji, it was the one time in his life since he moved to Japan that he didn't feel nervous to be around his peer. Next time he and his dad talked he would definitely mention Ryuji, none of the Castle stuff though cause that shit was way to weird to explain over the phone. 

-

Ren arrived home at Leblanc to find Sojiro behind the counter smoking a cigarette, looking a little grumpy. 

"What are you doing home this late?" Sojiro asked sternly. 

Ren rolled his eyes a bit at that remark, "I was actually out to dinner with a friend, went to a beef bowl place in Shibuya."

Sojiro's eye lit up somewhat at that development. As much of a hard ass as he was, Sojiro saw Ren as a nephew of sorts, so hearing that Ren finally made a friend in Japan made Sojiro really happy for Ren.

"Oh, that's good to hear actually. Sorry about that stern remark, just didn't know where you were." Sojiro said with a soft smile. "Here, there's a reason I wanted you to be home a little earlier." Sojiro threw an apron at Ren, Ren catching it rather easily. "I wanted to show you my trade, I'm sure your father has mentioned how good my coffee is. Let me show you how the magic is done."

Ren actually lit up at this, he had been feeling sluggish the past few days since he had lost his instant coffee maker, so learning how to make coffee for real excited the young man. He immediately threw the apron around his waist and walked around behind the counter, ready to learn. 

"I've been desperate for some coffee the last few days, so learning how to make some actually good coffee and not instant shit is a godsend." Ren exclaimed with a fire in his eyes.

Sojiro took not of this with a small smirk crawling up is lip. "Well coffee isn't something you make just for yourself, I consider coffee the gateway to the heart for a person. Make the perfect coffee for someone and you've got an instant friend on your hands. To be more specific however, women love them a good coffee." Sojiro said with a full smile.

Ren took note of that part especially, he had stopped by the library the previous day to see a cute brunette studying with a thermos of coffee right next to her. If he could make the perfect coffee then just maybe...

Ren shook himself realizing it was way too early in his Shujin career to even think about that, with the rumors going around about him he probably didn't have a chance with anyone anyway. Still, he took note of Sojiro's advice with a small nod. "Really? I'll have to keep that part in mind later..." Ren said with a curious look on his face.

Sojiro chuckled at that expression on Ren's face, knowing that Ren was taking his advice to heart.

"Well then, let the brewing lesson begin!" Sojiro said while grabbing some coffee beans.

-

After what felt like the most extensive brewing process lesson ever, Ren retired up to his room and laid down on his bed, the day was exhausting and he needed some rest. He heard his phone ping with a notification, it was a message from his dad.

_D: How goes it son? New school treating you better?"_

Ren let out a disappointed sigh, as he was going to have to explain everything had had happened the last 2 days to him, minus the Castle.

_R: About that..._

_Things got off to a bad start..._

A minute passed as Ren awaited his father's response, terrified it would be some angry message demanding to know what Ren had done to make it a bad start.

_D: Bad how?_

_R: Well for one, somehow my arrest got leaked out to the entire school, so now the rumor mill is that I'm an ex Yakuza who stabbed someone over some beer._

_D: How the hell did your record get leaked!?_

_R: That actually ties into the second part of the bad start. It was a teacher more than likely, but what he did to me is nothing compared to what else is going on._

_D: Christ what next then._

_R: The dude is abusing his students. He's the volleyball coach and all the players come out of practice with shit tons of injuries that are not normal. Bruises to the face, black eyes, etc._

_D: How has this not been reported!?_

_R: Well now for the part that's half good and half bad. I actually made a friend on the first day I attended. His name is Ryuji._

_D: That's good! Great even! I get the feeling I'm getting a massive but coming..._

_R: BUT_

_D: There it is._

_R: Reason why I know all of this is because Ryuji was a victim of his abuse as well. When the teacher got hired, he initially got hired to be a track team coach which Ryuji was the star player on. That didn't fit with what the teacher wanted to do though so he goaded Ryuji into attacking him so he could break up the track team. Keep this part in mind for what I'm about to tell you, this teacher is gigantic, has nearly half a foot on me, and I'm already a giant at 6 feet here. When he finally got Ryuji to attack him, he broke Ryuji's leg and claimed self defense. Ryuji slouches and but even if he stood straight up he'd be 3 inches shorter than me._

_D: What._

_The._

_Fuck._

_I'm assuming Ryuji was just cast aside then?_

_R: YEP! So now even though everyone in the entire building knows it, no one will report on it out of fear of being treated like Ryuji. Ryuji is now treated like a thug despite just being a kid with a really good heart. He just wanted a track scholarship so he could make things easier for his single mom. And now, he's got nothing, no one to turn to. Reminds me of me, probably why we made quick friends._

_D: Well I'm glad there's a least a silver lining from all of this. I'm coming to Tokyo next month for a business trip, you should introduce me to him, he sounds like a great kid._

_R: That'd be great. Just know he doesn't know a single word of English so I'd either have to play translator or you'd have to break out your bad Japanese._

_D: You wound me my son, and I'm not so sure you're one to talk!_

_R: Hey! I'll have you know my Japanese is much better than the last time I tried speaking it around you. I'm pretty fluent now!_

_D: Well then you'll play translator then! See you later Ren, good night._

_R: Good night dad._

Ren sighed and plugged his phone into its charger and headed to bed. His dad was right, there was a silver lining to all this, he met Ryuji, someone who related to his plights and agreed in his distrust of authoritative figures. Sojiro actually was taking a great liking to him, no doubt from the good will coming from his dad but it still felt really nice. He was ready to face tomorrow with a fresh outlook, a friend really helped Ren's mental state.

4/14

Ren and Ryuji's investigation into the volleyball team led them to a dead end. No student wanted to talk or give any dirt on what Kamoshida was doing. Today led to another development however, Morgana showed up in reality as a black cat with a yellow collar. He realized Ren's and Ryuji's problem with Kamoshida and brought a solution to them. Stealing the treasure of the other world's Kamoshida which was the source of the distortion, with the treasure gone from the other world, Kamoshida's distorted cognition would breakdown and he would be brought back to reality. There was one problem however.

"The man is scum, we're all in agreement in that, but we can't kill him." Ren spoke up after Morgana mentioned that a palace collapsing could possibly lead to full mental collapse and death, which was something Ren wanted no part of. He already had to lay low so a teacher randomly dying a couple weeks after he showed up would be beyond suspicious. 

"I come all this way and you don't have an answer for me?" Morgana asked with a slightly mocking tone. 

"It ain't about that! I ain't gonna be a killer when there's still other options for us!" Ryuji exclaimed rather loudly. Ren once again motioned his hand at him telling him to keep the volume down.

"Look I'll be back tomorrow, you better have an answer by then." Morgana said before running off to somewhere else in the school.

"How easily will he get caught you think?" Ren asked Ryuji.

"I give the cat 6 hours before getting caught tomorrow." Ryuji said with a slight smirk.

"Well there's not much else to discuss I guess so I'm heading home." Ren said while walking to the door.

Ryuji agreed and decided to follow Ren's lead. They both had a lot of thinking to do about this whole situation.

Ren was heading back to Leblanc as he exited the Ginza Line onto Shibuya Square, when he heard a girl arguing over the phone. It was the girl from his class, Ann Takamaki, the one that drove off with Kamoshida the day he first attended. She seemed to be in an extremely heated argument about something, then a certain word came up.

"...Wait what!? That's not what you promised! How can you even call yourself a teacher!?" Ann exclaimed into her phone. That had caught Ren's ear, could she be talking to Kamoshida?

"This has nothing to do with Shiho!" Ann shouted into her phone before bending down to lay her head in her knees. Something was wrong and Ren had to get to the bottom of it.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ren asked as he leaned down to look Ann in the eye. He hadn't noticed before, were her eyes, blue? The blonde hair was hard to miss, was she half Caucasian as well?

"Haven't you heard of privacy!?" Ann exclaimed as she ran off. Ren made chase as he refused to let her wallow in her own sorrow, something was bothering her and he had to get to the bottom of it. He eventually found her in the underground walkway crying to herself. Ren made a bold move and decided to speak English to her. 

"Look if you don't wanna talk to me out of a fear of privacy that's fine. But speaking English here is like speaking in code so how about you talk to me in English somewhere safe?" Ren spoke gently to her, trying to calm her nerves.

"Y-you speak English? Fine then, let's go to Big Bang Burger, doubt anyone going there would care much." Ann spoke with a slight sniffle coming out of her. 

Ren and Ann eventually made their way to the Big Bang Burger and began speaking with each other. Ann recounted the her tales as a quarter American Japanese girl and how it tore her up inside and hurt her socially. 

"I understand exactly how you feel Ann." Ren said while removing his glasses, "I really don't look it but I'm half American as well, grew up in Hawaii most of my life. Only moved here to Japan about 2 years ago. I've never been so distant than when I first moved here, I felt so alone, like I didn't belong. Coming here and meeting with similarly like minded people really helped me escape that hole of depression I've been stuck in." 

"R-really? You aren't kidding when you say no one can ever tell that you're half American." Ann said slightly baffled. "But, thanks for listening to me Ren. It means a lot, really. I should get going though, I'll try and sort out the Kamoshida thing myself but if I have to, I'll come to you for help." Ann said with a smile, but, the smile didn't reach her eyes Ren thought. 

"How about I give you my number so you can update me on how that goes. I've got stake in this race too, he's the one that more than likely leaked my arrest." Ren said with a sad look in his eyes. 

"God he really is the worst isn't he... 

Here's my number, I'll message you if anything comes up." Ann said as she left the building.

Ren left the building soon after her, paying for the single drink he ordered and headed home. He told Sojiro he wasn't really up for a lesson today and just wanted to sleep, Sojiro seemed a little disappointed but understood, a look in Ren's eyes made him look so exhausted. Ren flopped into his bed, letting his weight crush his mattress. Ren felt like that though he had made some development with Ann, things were about to get a lot worse...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter in 1 day? Don't expect it again. I just couldn't sleep cause I had the entire idea of this chapter planned out and wanted to get it out of my mind ASAP. Next chapter will probably come on Thursday or late Wednesday. Ren's American side will show up a lot harder in the next chapter so get ready.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And worse things did come...

4/15

April 15th, a day that would shake Ren to his core. The day Shiho Suzui jumped from the rooftops of Shujin. Ren stood next to Ryuji staring at Shiho's barely breathing body, shaking with rage. This had to be because of the argument Ann had with Kamoshida the day before, Ann finally had enough of his shit and called it off. Ryuji suddenly snapped Ren out of his gaze to point something out,

"Dude look!" Ryuji said motioning to Mishima, who had just darted off back into the building. "He knows something Ren, we need to go after him." Ryuji said taking the lead.

Ren followed Ryuji back inside the building, desperate to get the info out of Mishima.

-

"Mishima just tell us what Kamoshida did, you won't be named as the one we got the information from, we just want to see that he's brought to justice." Ren said as Ryuji leaned against the nearby locker. Ren felt a little bad as he towered over the guy, probably intimidating him but that didn't matter right now, a girl just tried to kill herself over Kamoshida's abuse, this needed to end right now.

"What he said man, we just want Kamoshida to stop this abuse and get the justice that's coming to him." Ryuji said with an angry look on his face.

Mishima looked around to make sure no one was in earshot, then he spoke on what has been happening. 

"Kamoshida has been abusing us yeah...

But yesterday he called me to go get Suzui-san, I don't know why, she hadn't done anything yesterday. What's worse is, Kamoshida seemed exceptionally angry yesterday, so the punishment was probably even worse..." Mishima said with an emotional beyond despair in his voice.

With every word that dripped out of Mishima's mouth Ren's rage only grew larger. This teacher, this coach, this MAN, did the worst thing that could happen to any young man or woman. Ren wanted to not believe it but he knew it to be true, there was no other option on what it could have been. Clearly Ryuji was thinking the same thing.

"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji screamed out before attempting to make a run for the gym office on the other floor of the building, only to be stopped by Ren grabbing his wrist.

"Ren what are yo-" Ryuji stopped as he met Ren's eyes, they were full of rage unlike anything Ryuji had ever seen, it would have scared him if he didn't know who the look was coming from.

"Ryuji we are not confronting him here about this. He can spin it too easily in his favor, we need to play this smart. Our jackets don't have shirt pockets that I can put our phones in so we can't discretely record him. So that leaves us with one option..." Ren spoke with perfect candor, attempting to hide his rage beneath it all.

Ryuji sighed but instantly realized what Ren was talking about. "The other world's Kamoshida, you're right! I have no doubts left in me about that option. We have no choice but to do it." 

Ren nodded and said, "I agree, let's find Morgana and tell him we've made our choice to take Kamoshida down in his palace." 

-

Ryuji and Ren met Morgana during lunch hour and told him that they were prepared to take on the Shadow Kamoshida. Suddenly Ann appeared from the behind the corner,

"Are you guys planning to do something about Kamoshida?" Ann inquired.

"Yeah, we are, but this is something only we can do Ann." Ren stating with a determined look in his eye.

"I'm sorry Ann I know how much you want to take that scumbag down but what we're trying to do is super dangerous and we don't want to involve you. Go be with Shiho, Ann, she needs you through this..." Ryuji said trying to let Ann down easy.

"You guys! I need this! Shiho's in a coma! She's like this because of him!" Ann said while shouting, Ren could hear the desperation in her voice, he knew she wanted nothing more than to make Kamoshida pay for what he's done but, it was just too dangerous.

Ren decided to speak English for a second, knowing no one nearby could understand it aside from him and Ann. "Ann we're going to a place that could kill us, me and Ryuji honestly don't have much to lose from doing this, we're hated at this school and our only friends are each other, you have Shiho, you need to live for her, to be there for her when she does wake up. You can tell her how much better things will be when she comes back." 

Ann was taken aback by that comment, she didn't expect Ren to be so confident they would win but, it could kill them? Just what were they up to? Ann wasn't gonna let Ren and Ryuji do something that could kill them so she decided to tail them after school. She didn't expect an alternate world is where they'd be going however. 

-

Once again the visit to the Castle was cut short as their new team member didn't have the stamina to continue fighting after Awakening to their power. Ann's Persona was certainly... interesting to say the least. A burlesque looking woman with two rag dolled men was certainly a look. Her fire power was nothing to scoff at however, as it made the Shadow they fought when she gained the power an easy battle. Ann just didn't have the strength to continue past the Shadow as Awakening takes a lot of stamina out of someone. The thing that surprised Ren the most was the outfit she changed into, reminded him of Catwoman, Ann must've liked Batman growing up if that was what her internal idea of a rebel was. The entire situation was disgusting to him, Shadow Kamoshida had hooked Ann up to a giant X, latching her limbs in place so she couldn't move. The entire palace had disgusted Ren but soon, the Palace would be no more, their group had more than enough power to take Kamoshida down at this point. They just needed to get a route secured to the treasure. Ren finally relaxed on the train when he remembered something terrifyingly important. 

"I need to somehow get Sojiro to let me keep Morgana..."

-

Ren walked into Leblanc rather quickly, Sojiro didn't even ask where he had been, figured he was out with his friend again which he didn't mind. Ren instantly walked upstairs and put Morgana on his bed and started pacing around the room. 

"Morgana this is bad. I live in a restaurant, I just started living here and I need to make sure I don't piss Sojiro off or I could ruin my good wil-"

"Is that a cat?" Sojiro emerged from the stairs, "You know you live in a restaurant right?" 

"Poor thing was abandoned near my school, kept rubbing up against my leg and I couldn't handle just leaving it there." Ren said, as it wasn't a complete lie. 

"Well I think having a pet that you take care of exclusively could help teach some responsibility, just make sure it doesn't go down into the Cafe while were open. Could cause some serious issues if a customer saw it. Does it have a name?" 

Ren was taken aback at how fine Sojiro was with Morgana, he expected he would have to fight for Morgana to stay but Sojiro just, let him, as long as he was responsible for him.

"Uhh...

My friends suggested the name Morgana. Sounds kinda elegant and goes with black fur I think." Ren couldn't think of a reason for the name that actually made sense so he just came up with one on the spot. 

"Morgana huh...

Was kinda hoping I'd get to help name it." Sojiro walked back down the stairs to finish up closing the Cafe for the night.

"The master of this place is really nice. You're lucky you're under his care." Morgana said with a grateful attitude. 

Ren let out a sigh as he sat down on his bed, absolutely exhausted. Today had been a long day and he needed to rest his body and mind. "No kidding, my dad's always been a good judge of character but I didn't think Sojiro would be this cool..."

Just as he said that he heard Sojiro coming up the stairs once again, a plate of rice in his hand. "It seriously just had to keep calling out in that cute voice..." Sojiro said putting the plate down in front of Morgana. "Clean that plate up when he's done. I'm heading home."

Ren sat there a little dumbfounded as Morgana feasted on the plain rice Sojiro had given him. Letting out a little laugh, "Didn't know you'd be a softy for cats." 

Sojiro grumbled as he went down the stairs, "Can it kid or I'll throw you out." 

Ren heard the bell of the door ring as Sojiro headed home. Ren laid his head down on his pillow, just wanting some rest, he'd wake up early to clean the plate as he just wanted to sleep right now. He could feel his consciousness drifting until he felt a sudden weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to see Morgana sitting on his chest staring at him.

"Can I help you Morgana?" Ren asked sarcastically, clearly wanting to get some shut eye. 

"Well as much as I wanna let you get your rest so we can be prepared for the palace, I wanna know more about you specifically. You're our leader and I don't know what your past is! If I can't know my own past I wanna know everyone else's!" Morgana said excitedly. 

Ren was taken aback by this a bit but he was never one to not tell his story when someone was interested in, it made him more comfortable when he had friends that understood his past. He rattled off points like being half American, his parents' divorce, moving to Japan, his stunted social life, his relationship with his father and his arrest. Morgana continued to just sit and listen attentively, made Ren really happy how earnest Morgana was in learning about himself. 

Once Ren finished recalling his tale Morgana just sat there, all he could say was, "Wow, your father sounds like a really honorable man..."

"Yeah I'm really lucky to have him in my life, if I didn't I'm not sure how long I would have lasted when my mom moved me here to Japan." Ren let out a yawn as he finished talking, "Now can I actually go to sleep now? I've told you my tragic backstory after all."

Morgana nodded the best way a cat could nod, "Yeah get some rest, we both need it." Morgana said as he curled up into a ball of fur. 

Ren leaned back onto his pillow reflecting on the last few days. As terrifying as the other world is, he felt himself come alive in battle. Turns out he was special in the other world as he could wield the Shadows they fought as Personas within him. This allowed him to play any role the team needed at the time and he enjoyed being someone the others could lean on. He turned into an exceptional leader in battle, dealing out commands that would end battles quickly as he memorized the elemental weaknesses of the Shadows they encountered. He let out catchphrases as he tore enemies apart, his thief outfit was a stylish black trench-coat with blood red gloves to accent the black and grays of his outfit. He could get used to this life honestly, the only thing that bothered him about the entire situation of the Cognitive World was the Velvet Room. Something about that place struck him as off putting despite the help(?) they provided him. Something to think about later, he had to focus on leading the team to Kamoshida's treasure, they could not afford to let this abuse last any longer. They gave themselves a deadline of two weeks, as they feared that with Shiho's attempt on her own life, Kamoshida could get reckless and hurt someone else to that point. They absolutely would not let that happen again.

-

4/23

The route was secured. It took little over a week after getting supplies from a back alley doctor that worked nearby Leblanc and weapons from a gruff looking dude running an Air-soft shop in Shibuya. How Ren managed to convince those two to give him the supplies he needed he may never know. Maybe the Phantom Thief life made him quite the charmer around people, who knows. The route was secure and the team had agreed to meet on the rooftop of Shujin to discuss the calling card Morgana had mentioned.

"Basically we need to make our presence known to the Palace ruler in reality so they're on edge. The treasure will appear once they see the calling card and know someone is onto them." Morgana explained the concept to the other 3 thieves.

"So we need to print out a message to Kamoshida and make him aware that we're coming for his desires huh..." Ann said a little confused and worried, thinking it wouldn't be enough.

"Yo lemme write it! I got the perfect idea of what to say!" Ryuji said excitedly, knowing this would work.

"You can write it Ryuji but I'm editing it, Kamoshida knows the way you talk but he has barely interacted with me. If we combine our writing styles then it will sound more anonymous so the trail will lead off of us." Ren said trying to calm Ryuji down, getting used to having to do the hand motion to get Ryuji to lower his voice. Hopefully he'd get used to speaking in much more hushed whispers. 

"I gotcha man! I'm just so pumped! We're finally gonna put an end to Kamoshida's bullshit!" Ryuji said in an excited but much more quiet tone. 

Ann got a look of determination in her eyes, she wasn't alone in the fight against Kamoshida, she had her friends to help her fight this bastard, and they were going to win. She took a deep breath and said, "Right. Let's break for today so we can get the calling card done and posted."

Ren nodded at the rest of his team before heading out with Ryuji to get the supplies needed to make the card. The Phantom Thieves were coming for Kamoshida, and there was nothing that could prepare that bastard for them.

4/24

A group of students stood before the bulletin board on the first floor of the school, multiple cards with messages and a crude logo of a hat and toothy grin adorning them. Ann walked up to the board to get a look at the cards for herself since Ren and Ryuji wanted to keep it a mystery to her. 

"Suguru Kamoshida, you have committed the great sin of lust. Your lust for power and control has led to your abuse of innocent students, you have escaped judgement for far too long. That ends today, by today's end your desires will be stolen from your distorted heart and you will admit your crimes to the world. 

Signed, 

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts." Ann's eyes were wide open, if anything got Kamoshida's attention it would be this. Combined with the chatter of the nearby students this was sure to work. 

Ann walked up to Ren and Ryuji who were standing on the other side of the hallway laughing to themselves, elated that their card produced such a reaction.

"So do you think it worked?" Ann asked Ren as he took note of a certain someone walking up to the board.

"I'd say take a look for yourself." Ren motioned to the board to see a furious Kamoshida.

"WHO DID THIS!? WAS IT YOU OR MAYBE IT WAS YOU!?" Kamoshida roared at the other students at the board chasing them away, "OR MAYBE IT WAS YOU!" Kamoshida said as he walked up to the group of thieves.

Just to fuck with Kamoshida, Ren decided to taunt him in English. "So what if it was? What are you gonna do about it?" Ren spat this venom out while looking Kamoshida straight in the eye, not flinching for a second.

Kamoshida barely understood what Ren said and looked angry that this delinquent was so fluent in English. "I'll be sure to bring this up at the next teacher's meeting. Your days are fucking numbered kid" Kamoshida said as he stormed off.

Morgana appeared out of Ren's bag, "Well I'd say that was quite a success, the treasure is sure to appear now." Morgana said with a confident bravado. 

Ryuji fist pumped to himself, "Alright! Let's do this shit then! Time for the first Phantom Thief heist!"

Ann steadied herself, "I will make sure he suffers for what he's done to everyone at this school, for Shiho." 

Ren let out a Joker like smirk, letting his Metaverse self take over for a moment. "Alright then team. IT'S SHOWTIME!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter in 1 day cause I'm kinda on a roll in terms of muse at the moment. The next chapter will be the big fight! Been avoiding the Metaverse until now because I couldn't think of much to do in it with this version of Ren, the Kamoshida battle provides some much needed action for me to do some interesting stuff. Stay tuned!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle against Kamoshida is hard fought and when the result they worked for finally comes, Ren does some story telling for his friends.

The thieves entered Kamoshida's palace and noticed instantly that something was off. There was a pressure they felt that they hadn't felt before, meaning the calling card worked and the treasure had to be fully formed now. They had planned out a route to the safe room nearest to the throne room so they could avoid combat with shadows if possible and soon enough they arrived at their safe room.

"Alright everyone, remember the plan?" Ren asked the other thieves at the table.

"Grab the the treasure rush out as fast as we can with it? Pretty simple so it's hard to forget." Morgana responded smugly.

Ren looked to the other two thieves who just seemed to be getting more and more impatient, they wanted to get the change of heart done already. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Ren ended the meeting earlier than he wanted.

"Alright just wanted to be sure since this is our first time doing this, we need to be prepared for anything. Let's move!" Ren exclaimed with confidence.

The thieves made their way to the throne room, something was off however, the door was wide open and no one was in there. Ren took note of this, realizing Kamoshida is probably waiting on them so he can spring a trap on them. The thieves continued forward to the treasure room, the treasure had manifested as a giant crown, no doubt a representation of Kamoshida's inflated ego.

"How the hell are we gonna carry that!?" Ryuji said in a panic.

"T-treasure..." Morgana said completely ignoring Ryuji.

"Mona? You alright?" Ann asked.

Suddenly, Morgana leaped up onto the crown rubbing his face into it, purring like a car motor into it.

"Mona that isn't cat nip, get down." Ren said bluntly.

Mona suddenly broke out of his treasure induced trance, hopping down from the side of the crown.

"I'm sorry about that, I don't know what came over me." Morgana said apologetically.

"That was super out of character for you, what happened?" Ann asked with a very confused look.

"I don't know, when I saw the treasure I just, lost myself..." Morgana said in a saddened tone.

"Well you broke out of the trance, let's get the treasure now. No guards and no Kamoshida is making me nervous so I wanna try and get out here ASAP." Ren said trying to hurry the thieves along.

The 3 humanoid thieves grouped together to carry the crown together through the throne room, when suddenly. 

"Go go Kamoshida!" 

The Shadow Kamoshida and Cognitive Ann appeared out of no where and smacked the crown out of their arms with a volley ball. The crown shrinking down to normal size as Kamoshida summoned it to his hands.

"NO ONE IS TAKING THIS FROM ME! THIS PROVES THAT I AM THE KING OF THIS WORLD!" Kamoshida exclaimed in a venomous tone. 

"Hand that over, or else this will get ugly fast." Ren said menacingly, he was done playing Kamoshida's game.

"YOU STILL DON'T GET IT DO YOU!? I DESERVE THIS CROWN! EVERYONE AROUND ME REALIZES THAT IT ALLOWS THEM TO SHARE IN MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS! IDIOTS LIKE YOU AND THAT GIRL WHO TRIED TO KILL HERSELF JUST DON'T GET IT!" Kamoshida boasted as a red aura began to envelop him slowly.

"Yeah, you're right, she was an idiot for that, letting you manipulate her. And I'm an even bigger dumbass for not realizing that!" Ann fought back against Kamoshida's words.

"ENOUGH WITH THE ATTITUDE PEASANT! THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME USING MY GIFTS FOR MY OWN GAIN! I'M A CUT ABOVE THE REST OF YOU ALL!" Kamoshida screamed as the red aura began to increase in intensity.

"A cut above the rest of us!? You're just a demon obsessed with your desires!" Ann screamed out in anger.

That final remark made Kamoshida let out an insidious laugh, the red aura turning into a storm that enveloped him. 

"YOU'RE RIGHT I AM A DEMON! I AM A DEMON WHO RULES THIS WORLD!" Kamoshida screamed as the red aura finally overtook him. The aura dissipated revealing Kamoshida's true form, a giant monster with multiple arms and goat horns adorning his head, right next to his giant crown. 

"HAHAHAHA! I'M ALLOW TO DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!" Kamoshida's monstrous form screaming out.

"I think it's time someone took you down a few pegs! Thieves! Form up!" Ren taking a stand against Kamoshida's giant form. 

Kamoshida let out a gigantic roar at the thieves before slamming the fork in his hand at Ren, who gracefully back flipped to avoid it. 

"Eat this!" Ryuji yelled out as he fired off a Zio spell from Captain Kidd. Ann unloaded a clip from her SMG into Kamoshida's chest and Morgana unloading a gust of wind from Zorro's sword. Ren finished the barrage with a slash to the chest from Eligor. 

As they finished their assault to regroup, Kamoshida let out a hearty laugh, "YOU CAN'T DO SHIT TO ME!"

Kamoshida stuck the fork he had in his hand into the chalice at his lap, eating the contents inside. Ren noticed that as he did this, the wounds he had just sustained completely vanished, this contents of the chalice were healing him. Joker took immediate action and directed the group towards it. 

"The chalice is healing him! Focus all firepower on that thing!" Joker yelled out as the others let loose their most powerful spells. Ren kept the shadow distracted from the attacks and forced Kamoshida to aim all of his attacks at him, to no avail of course. Ren was surprised at just how nimble he was in the Metaverse. It was exhilarating how effortlessly he moved, without thinking he dodged enemy attacks and always landed on his feet. As everyone had exhausted their spells at the moment, Ren swooped in to lay one final knife volley into the cup. "How do you like that asshole!?" Ren taunted the giant beast.

"YOU BASTARDS! THAT WAS FROM MY FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP I WON!" Kamoshida screamed as he suddenly threw his arms in a punching motion towards Ren, he couldn't avoid it in time so he would have to block the attack with all his might. 

Blocking it wasn't enough. The attack sent Ren flying into the nearby doorway off of the balcony, hurdling him to the ground below.

-

"Joker! No! You bastard!" Ann yelled out as she lashed her whip out at Kamoshida's legs, hoping to knock him off balance. 

"I'll take over commanding until Joker gets back to us! He's fine I'm sure of it! Skull! Fire your gun at the crown! See if we can knock it off!" Morgana yelled out dodging Kamoshida's attacks.

"Got it! You're gonna regret knocking Joker out of this fight!" Ryuji yelled out as he pulled out his combat shotgun, focusing a barrage of bullets into the crown, all to no avail. "Dammit that thing is stuck on there good!"

"SLAVES! BRING ME MY WEAPON! IT'S TIME THAT I ENDED THIS!" Kamoshida yelled out as the mini men he had surrounding him suddenly ran off to parts unknown. 

"He seems confident in the upcoming attack! Prepare yourselves everyone!" Morgana yelled out getting behind a nearby pillar.

"Dammit! He just won't go down!" Ann yelled out as Carmen fired multiple fire blasts across his body, the damage was being done but his stamina would not give out. Ann was terrified, was this it? Were they not strong enough? Ren got knocked out the window with a single punch from that monster, what could the rest of them do? He was their ace in the hole, the wild card! He was the strongest of all of them and without him, they were doomed...

"Panther over here!" Ryuji yelled out behind a pillar, snapping Panther out of his despair for her to retreat to the nearby pillar. The slaves had returned with a gigantic gold studded volleyball, sure what Kamoshida had meant by his weapon. 

"HAHAHA GET READY CAUSE YOU'RE ALL DONE FOR N-" Kamoshida stopped as he turned his head to see a silhouette in the moonlight. A pair of wings at waist level of a top hatted creature, and a Phantom Thief with a look that could kill.

-

Ren chided himself for not being able to dodge, he was thankful his arms were able to cancel out most of the pain of the attack but the force still sent him reeling. He had never realized just how high up the throne room was, they were thousands of feet in the air and Ren might as well be sky diving at this point. He had to think fast if he wanted to survive and get back to the fight. The grappling hook was a no go, he was falling to fast to get an anchor point latched on to and the force of swinging would surely tear his arm off. His brain rattled with ideas until a voice cut through the chaos.

_Use my wings Trickster! I can carry you back up to the top with my flight!_

Without thinking, Ren let a confident smirk embezzle his face as he called Arsene forth. "Arsene, give me the wings of freedom!"

In a blue flame Arsene appeared and grabbed Ren and began his ascent up the main tower of the Castle, spiraling around the tower until they reached the balcony. Ren's visage before the moonlight somehow terrified the gigantic monster, which Ren found incredibly amusing, a full toothed grin now adorning his face. Ren shot out the grappling hook from his wrist, implanting it in the crown on Kamoshida's head. The hook rocketed him forward, flying full force to Kamoshida.

"Arsene go for the crown!" Ren yelled out as he sped through Kamoshida, slashing his eyes as he sped past. Arsene grabbed the golden part of the crown and dragged it down with him and Ren. The double attack left Kamoshida crumpled mess on the ground, desperate for his sight to return in this form. 

"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU TAKE OUT YOUR KING'S EYES!?" Kamoshida flailed while clutching his eye sockets. 

"Thieves hold him up!" Ren commanded the thieves with confident authority, they all surrounded Kamoshida with their guns trained intensely on him. They had done it, they had pinned down Kamoshida, they just had to finish the job.

"I AM THE GREAT KAMOSHIDA! MY CROWN PROVES I AM ABOVE EVERYONE! MY RULE IS ABSOLUTE!" Kamoshida screamed out in a desperate attempt to intimidate the thieves.

"That crown is nothing, and your false tyranny is coming to an end! Everyone attack!" Ren yelled out as the thieves let out an all out attack, finishing Kamoshida off. 

-

"No! Please! I'm sorry for everything just please don't kill me!" Shadow Kamoshida let out a desperate cry as the thieves cornered him to the balcony that he had thrown Ren out of earlier. 

"That view you have right now? It's the exact same one Shiho had, when you took away something precious to her. You took everything from her!" Ann yelled out as Carmen fired two fireballs in Kamoshida's direction.

"ANN NO!" Ryuji and Ren exclaimed as the fire balls were sent Kamoshida's direction, only to swerve into the nearby wall. Ann's mask formed on her face again as her fists shook with rage.

"If he dies here, he can't admit to his crimes..." Ann's words had a venom in them that was indescribable. She wanted this man to suffer in prison for the rest of life for what he's done to her, to Shiho, to everyone at Shujin.

"You're kind lady Ann." Morgana spoke with a confident swagger as their mission had been a success.

"W-what do I do now?" Shadow Kamoshida asked pathetically. 

"Give us the crown, and return to yourself. Suffer the consequences of what you've done you bastard." Ren's words were also filled with a rage no one could describe, Ryuji just stood in angry silence. Ryuji had no words that could get across how much hatred he had for the monster in front of him. 

"I understand," Kamoshida said as he tossed the crown to Ren, "I will return to myself and admit to what I've done." 

The Shadow Kamoshida vanished into little pieces of light, the change of heart worked. Suddenly, the entire castle began to shake like an earthquake was toppling the entire building.

"Mona what the hell is happening!?" Ren yelled out in a panic, breaking the Joker act for but a moment.

"Didn't I mention that the treasure being stolen would cause the palace to collapse?" Mona asked genuinely.

"No you didn't mention anything like that!" Ryuji spoke out panicking much more than Ren.

"Oh, well, lesson learned." Morgana said as he started licking himself. 

"Morgana get up! Everyone run!" Ren hurried everyone along to the nearby exit, trying to escape the crumbling ceiling around them. 

Ren and the other thieves ran as hard and fast as they could through the nearby hallway as that seemed to be their only escape route. A note Ren made in his mind was to always find an escape route for future heists. At one point Morgana decided to just turn into his cat form and perch himself on Ren's shoulder. 

"Mona get off an-" Ren looked over his shoulder to try and chastise the cat but that's when the worst possible thing happen. Ryuji's leg acted up and made him trip and take a bad fall. Ren instantly took action and summoned the horseback riding Eligor.

"Skull you're riding Eligor til we escape! You're in no condition to run." Ren said all this as Eligor grabbed Ryuji and laid him across the horse's back. Ryuji was left a little embarrassed at the action but touched at how quick Ren was to make a plan to ease the stress off his teammate. 

As Ren, Morgana, Ann and Ryuji on Eligor's back kept running, they eventually reached a bright white light, signaling their escape from the Metaverse.

-

"So that medal was the source of everything huh?" Ryuji asked as he and Ren walked to the station. The thieves made the decision to sell the medal off so they could get some dinner to celebrate, even if it was a fake, gold still had to be worth a lot right? 

"Seems so, his entire ego was spawned from this one accomplishment. I checked after we got out and aside from a few championships before this, this was his only accolade before coming to the school." Ren said back, flipping the gold medal around as he walked. 

"I have full confidence the change of heart worked, a distortion of that size breaking down has to do something to the victim's perspective on things." Morgana said while popping out of Ren's bag.

"Let's hope so, cause if not, we're in a load of hurt tomorrow. Mainly me more than likely, I think my little English taunt really pissed him off." Ren said laughing to himself, he was really proud of that, seeing Kamoshida storm off in a huff was really funny to watch. 

"I may not have understood what you said, but you must've said some really smug shit for him to have a reaction like that! It was priceless man!" Ryuji yelled out while pumping his fist in the air. Ryuji then calmed himself and looked down with a more relaxed expression, a soft smile adorning his face.

“I can't begin to thank you enough man, I thought that after me no one would speak out against Kamoshida, but after you came here, everything changed for the better. Thank you man." Ryuji spoke in extremely grateful tone. Ren was taken aback by this, he didn't expect Ryuji to be so thankful, all Ren did was accidentally take them to a world where monsters and super powers existed. 

"Aw come on man we were both there together on accident. Who's to say I shouldn't be thankful for you accidentally getting all of Kamoshida's key words right while speaking to me?" Ren said sarcastically, hoping to get Ryuji to laugh off the entire situation. Ren liked leading the team, he just wasn't prepared for the reactions that came with it.

Thankfully Ryuji let out a hearty laugh, "Yeah I suppose you're right! Well my train's here, so I'll see you at school tomorrow man. See ya" Ryuji said as he walked into his train car. Ren smiled back and waved, Ren felt good, like a weight that had been on his shoulders for the last two years was finally gone. He wasn't quite sure if he was happy but he was relieved that's to be sure. The heist was a success and hopefully, Shujin would be a better place to spend his time during his probation. 

-

5/5

Life felt good, really good in fact. Riding the high of the heist being successful, the gang went out to a fancy buffet to celebrate. There they came to the realization that this Phantom Thief business could go even further than just Kamoshida. With the Phan-site Mishima had made, they could find more targets for them to change the hearts of. Ren, after years of feeling lost and alone, had a group he could rely on and a goal he could reach. He was elated as he ate his plate of steak and potatoes, he had missed American food so much and nothing was more American than that. Then Ryuji decided to ask a question out of the blue,

"So Ren, what does your dad do?" 

"Oh I'm curious as well! You mentioned he's in the military before right?" Ann asked with enthusiasm. 

Ren took a deep breath as he took a break from eating his food, "WAS in the military is important. My dad never wanted to join in the first place and got out as soon as he could."

"What do you mean? Didn't he want to help people?" Morgana asked curiously. Ren sighed as he remembered that the idea of the military in the United States was very different compared to other parts of the world.

Ren took another deep breath before he rattled the tale of his father. "My dad was a musician in high school, dabbled in just about any instrument he could get his hands on but he always favored the bass. He was in a garage band with a few of his friends, he always told me that when he was in high school, he and his friends wanted to make it big in the music world one day. But that day would never come."

"Well why not? Why did he join the military if he wanted to be a musician?" Ryuji asked Ren looking extremely confused.

"Military was always a tradition in my family. My grandpa was in it, great grandpa as well, great grandma even. So my grand parents kinda forced my dad to join, keep the Matthews name alive and well in the military for another generation." Ren spoke with a sad tone as he looked down at his hands. Mentioning the Matthews name out loud was weird to him, he hadn't done it in years, it felt so alien and he hated that it felt alien.

"Your dad must have been really sad about it huh..." Morgana said with a defeated tone.

Ren then looked back up quickly and responded, "Well at first maybe, but then my dad had a little change of heart. He decided that if he couldn't achieve his dream, then he would help younger talent achieve their's. He used his position in the military to go to college so he could get a Master's Degree in Business and Marketing. He retired from the military when he was 27, a year after getting his Master Degree. He was never in the line of duty but he took his position in the military in stride. He aced all of his exams that were required for it and his fellow members considered him a great leader during exercises. He used that experience for what he does now, he's a director at a record label based in Los Angeles. Thanks to being so high in the totem pole though, he's able to work remotely from Hawaii. He's done a lot in his time there, he's even helped some Japanese talent find there footing in the United States. I think his biggest success story is getting the idol, Risette, a footing. I think he still produces the US releases of her albums to this day. "

Ryuji, Morgana and Ann all looked positively hooked by the tale of his father, which made Ren really proud, he was lucky to have a dad like him. 

"Does your dad still and try music when he can?" Ryuji asked, which Ren was more than happy to oblige. This part was his favorite whenever he thought of his dad's career.

"Of course! While never making a big name for himself as a stand alone musician or as a major part of an act, he's the guy that most rock or metal bands will call when one of their members is out of commission for a concert or recording session. My dad can play just about any instrument well so he's become known as 'The Eternal Stand-in' in the rock world, which he's really happy to have. He's still a massive show boat when he plays in a concert cause he just loves putting on a show. I suppose I get a lot of my personality in the Metaverse from him. He has a lot of respect in the business for how much he dedicates to the bands he helps. Name any American rock or metal band and I bet my dad has played for them in a concert or album release."

Ann then posited a question that Ren didn't have an immediate answer for,

"So, where do you come in during that timeline?" 

Ren had to think for a moment, he had asked how his father met his mother a long time ago so the exact details were hazy but he knew he could get a general outline out as an answer. 

"I don't have exact details since the last time I asked my dad about how he and my mom met was about 5 years ago but I still remember the major points. About 4 years into his stint in the military my dad was stationed here to help work for the US Embassy. He used this to basically study abroad of course and that's when he met my mom here. They hit it off I guess and 4 years later I was born. My dad wanted out of the military as soon as possible after I was born, didn't want to risk being brought into duty while he had a son to come back home to." 

Ann beamed as she heard the story, she could tell Ren had a lot of adoration for his dad and it was really nice to see. "You really love your father huh?" 

"A lot, him keeping in touch after the move to Japan saved my mental state for the last two years. He's actually coming to Japan later this month, you all could meet him!" Ren beamed with excitement at the prospect, it's been so long since he's seen his dad since his mother would keep him on a leash essentially in Odaiba. 

"Hell yeah man that sounds awesome! Can't wait to meet him!" Ryuji yelled out, it made Ren really happy that he had friends like these. He then checked his phone to see any notifications when the terrifying realization hit him.

"We have 30 minutes left in this buffet, we are done talking I need food." Ren blurted this out as he instantly stood up bolting for the buffet, the others quick to follow.

Life was exciting for Ren for a change, Ren looked forward to each and every new day. He was prepared to face life head on, with whatever change it may bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some details on Ren's father. Very excited to write some more now that I've gotten introductions done.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The month of May is a busy one for the Phantom Thieves, and just went they finish a 2nd major target, the wheels of fate begin to turn.

5/6

Makoto Niijima was called into the Principal's office at the end of the day, she wondered what he could want with her since he had to be busy from the fallout of Kamoshida's confession. As she walked into the office she noticed something, Principal Kobayakawa had an intense scowl on his face. 

"Excuse me. Is there a specific reason you called me here sir?" Makoto asked, trying not to anger the Principal any further. 

"You saw how Kamoshida-kun's behavior changed correct? It's like his entire behavior changed over night." The Principal said with a silent fury in his voice, Kamoshida turning himself in clearly angered the Principal. The press being bad for the school seemed to anger the Principal more than Kamoshida's actions, which Makoto was disgusted by. How could this man care so little about the abuse of students?

"I'm not sure I follow sir..." Makoto said confused, burying her anger within. 

"I believe some students were prying into his business and caused him to change his tone. I'd like you to look into it." Kobayakawa said, never losing that scowl on his face. 

"W-why me?" Makoto asked.

"You're well respected among your peers and the teachers hold you in high regard. I'm sure I could write you a letter of recommendation for doing this for me." Kobayakawa said with a faux smile on his face. Was he, blackmailing her? Makoto couldn't believe the Principal of her school could do something like this. But, she had no other choice, what else could she do? Refuse and cause problems for her sister? 

"I-I'll do my best to look into it sir. Excuse me." Makoto excused herself from the office, shaken by the entire exchange. How could she even begin? What happened at the school recently that could have changed Kamoshida so drastically? The transfer student must have had something to do with it, the timing of his transfer and Kamoshida changing was too suspicious. Makoto would have to do some detective work. 

5/8

Ren woke up to find himself on the other side of his bed somehow, a restless sleep thanks to the discovery of Mementos. A Palace for all of humanity sitting right under Shibuya and that young boy Jose were extremely bizarre. Though, bizarre was a word that was beginning to lose meaning to Ren. He looked to his side to find Morgana sound asleep, somehow not being woken up by Ren's tossing and turning. Ren reached for his phone to see that he had gotten a message from his dad.

_D: Checked the news to see that Shujin's Gym Teacher resigned and turned himself into the police. How'd that happen?_

This spelled trouble, his dad was instantly suspicious that Ren had something to do with Kamoshida confessing. His dad might actually be proud of him for getting an abusive pedophile to turn himself into the police, but if his dad knew the methods he would be furious and worried about Ren and the danger he was in. Ren decided that the best course of action for now would just talk around the truth, say things that were technically true, but would hide the existence of the Phantom Thieves.

_R: Not really sure. I talked to the guy only 2 or 3 times. Last time I talked to him was a whole thing though._

_D: Really? What happened between you two? Might've had an effect on him that made him turn himself in._

Ren had to think of a story quick, what was something that sounded believable and could be something Ren could do in reality?

_R: Got in a massive argument with him after I shit talked him in English. He threatened me with physical punishment but then I broke out my phone. I told him that I had been recording our entire encounter and that I would send it to the American press. He kinda stopped in his tracks then and stormed off, I think he might've panicked and thought turning himself in would keep the story isolated to Japan. Clearly since you heard about it, that plan didn't work._

That was the best lie Ren could come up with, the shit talking in English did happen, but everything else didn't. Recording the incident seemed pretty in character for Ren so he hoped his dad would just leave it at that.

_D: Well look at you Mr. Investigator. Congrats on taking that bastard down. Hope he rots in prison for what he did to the kids in that school._

_R: I hope so too, Ryuji and Ann are really happy he's gone._

_D: Ann? Who's Ann?_

Oh, right. He hadn't mentioned Ann before to his dad. 

_R: Oh, right. Forgot to mention her before. She's another friend I made early on here. She's actually part American too and speaks fluent English!_

_D: Ah! Instant kinship right there! Happy for you Ren, really happy you're getting some good friends._

_R: I am too. When me and Ann want to discuss something in private, we can just do it in the open and speak English. It's like speaking in code here._

_D: That's hilarious. You remember how I mentioned how I was coming to Japan for a business trip? Well I'll be there from the 27th to June 2nd. Can't wait to meet your friends. Good night/morning Ren._

_R: Good night/morning to you too. See you then dad._

Ren got up for the day, he had a big day ahead of him. He was finally gonna go back to the air-soft shop and ask about the fake gun the owner sent him home with. Ren had a suspicion the man was ex Yakuza, the way he carried himself and running an air-soft shop in Japan were very odd. He wasn't really scared of the dude, Ren took him as one of those Yakuza that was into it for the 'Brotherhood and Code of Honor'. As long as the shop keep provided the weaponry the thieves needed in the Metaverse, Ren didn't really care about his past. Ren threw on his casual clothes, woke up Morgana, and got off with his day. The Phantom Thieves were in full business and they needed to prepare for their next target. 

5/13

A school assembly was called in the afternoon, the principal's speech angering Ren more with every word that came out. "Concerns that you couldn't ignore? Yeah right asshole. You were in on it all with Kamoshida." Ren then noticed that another man appeared on stage, he wore a doctor's coat and had messy brown hair. 

"My name is Dr. Maruki, I'll be your new guidance counselor here at Shujin, I hope you all come to me whenever you have troubles." As Maruki said this, he bowed into the mic, slamming his forehead straight into it. The entire assembly laughed at this gesture, Ren thought that had to be intentional, no way anyone would forget what's around them that easily. 

The assembly was dismissed and Ren met up Ann and Ryuji in the courtyard, Ryuji not at all impressed by Maruki's introduction.

"Counselor? No way this was done in good faith, they're just hiring him for the good press." Ryuji remarked with a blunt tone. 

"Ryuji! Quiet!" Ann told Ryuji, the reason why soon being obvious. Dr. Maruki soon walked up to introduce himself to the group of friends.

"Hi there, I assume you're Amamiya-kun, Takamaki-kun and Sakamoto-kun correct?" Maruki asked as if already knowing the answer.

"How do you know our names?" Ren asked puzzled, this counselor was just hired and he already knew all their names?

"Ah, well I was hired for the entire school, I was asked to first focus on students directly affected by Kamoshida's actions." Maruki said in a gentle tone. Ren had to admit, the man didn't give off any bad intentions. He seemed to genuinely want to be a person that could help them through their needs.

"Eh, I'm good doc. Got all my issues sorted out with my friends." Ryuji said, trying to dismiss the idea all together. 

"You may have, but, it never hurts to have another pair of ears to talk to." Maruki said, clearly trying to push them all into a session with him. 

"I'll think about it, if I have some free time I'll head over Doctor." Ren said, cause why not, Ren doesn't have anything to lose telling this guy his life story. 

"Good to hear! I have some more introductions to make so I hope to see you all later." Maruki said before walking off. 

"Were you serious Ren? You actually gonna talk to the guy?" Ryuji asked confused. 

"Sure, I've got nothing to lose. I always like telling my life story anyways, it's interesting to a lot of people." Ren said shrugging his shoulders.

"I think I might go as well. Having someone to talk to about Kamoshida who's completely disconnected from it all could help me vent..." Ann said with a sad look in her eyes. 

"Suit yourselves then, I'll be fine on my own!" Ryuji said confidently. 

With that the thieves broke up for the day and headed back to their classes. They needed to prepare for a Mementos visit later in the day as they had piled up a few requests from the public, still waiting on their next major target. 

5/18

Their next target had been found and a new teammate had been made. The target, Ichiryusai Madarame, a famous artist with allegations of plagiarism and abuse of his students. The new teammate, Madarame's current student. Yusuke Kitagawa, he was certainly a character that was for sure. He had first met the thieves when he tailed behind them in the subway to try and talk to Ann, requesting that she model for one of his paintings. Ann initially wasn't interested in the task but made concessions when she learned that modeling for him would more than likely open up a locked path for them in Madarame's palace. However, when the modeling job went south fast after opening the locked door they needed, Ann fell into the Metaverse with Morgana and Yusuke. 

Yusuke seeing all of his master's former pupils and his master's Shadow awoke his power deep within. His thief attire manifested as a black and white jumpsuit, with a fox tail at the waist. His mask took the form of a traditional artist's interpretation of a Fox, a kitsune. His Persona, being the infamous Goemon, the "Robin Hood of Japan". Yusuke's ice powers provided great support to thieves, most of the shadows having a weakness to it within Madarame's palace. With Joker's memorization of enemy weaknesses and the expanded arsenal of spells, the thieves were able to get to the end of the palace in their first visit with Yusuke. 

The thieves were sitting in the final safe room before the treasure, discussing the heist plan to grab the treasure and escape the Palace.

"I'm proud of us team, being able to do this all in one day was no easy feat. So, let's go over this heist one more time. Skull, you're in charge of distracting the guard from the security room. You're gonna need to run like hell so make sure your leg won't be acting up." Ren said Ryuji who gave him a determined look. Ren was mainly worried about Ryuji in this plan, after the leg scare they had during the escape from Kamoshida's Palace, Ren was terrified to let Ryuji exert himself too much while running. 

"I'll be fine man! Our training has helped my endurance for my leg a lot!" Ryuji said in a confident tone. 

"Alright then. Panther, while Skull is doing that, you're in charge of cutting the lights in the security room so Mona can grab the treasure without a problem." Ren said while eyeing Ann and Morgana.

"Don't worry! I got this! It's just one button to turn it off, I'd have to be really stupid to mess that up!" Ann spoke with a sarcastic tone which made Ren laugh. 

"Mona, you're gonna be on the hook that I operate when the lights get cut, you'll be our literal cat burglar since you'll be transporting the treasure during the escape. Think you'll be able to carry it on your own?" Ren asked, concerned the treasure could manifest into something massive like the crown initially did. 

"First of all, I am not a cat! Second, of course I can carry it! I'm plenty strong on my own." Morgana said in an incredibly smug tone. 

"I understand Mona. Then that leaves me and Fox. Fox you're on watch duty for Mona getting on the crane and alerting me for when to drop the crane." Ren said, ending the recap of the plan.

"I'm fine with the plan but, might I ask why you're so antsy about it? You seem on edge despite our progress." Yusuke said, concerned for Ren's mental state.

"I noticed it too, you seemed to want to get to the end of this Palace as soon as possible, even more so than Kamoshida's." Ann added with a concerned tone.

Ren sighed, realizing he was really wound up, it'd be best if he be open with the team. "My dad's coming to Japan on the 27th and I'll be honest, I just don't wanna think about the Phantom Thief business while he's here. It's been two years since I've seen him in the flesh and I think I just need an escape from it all."

The rest of the team all looked at each other and then flashed Ren a look of understanding. 

"We understand Joker, I'm certain the plan will go without a hitch and you'll be able to relax with your father." Yusuke said, trying his best to ease Ren's nerves.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. Now, let's head out so we can prepare the calling card." Ren said with a confidence boost.

The thieves let out a collective 'Yeah!' as they exited the safe room to make their way back to the Palace exit. 

5/20

The heist went almost as expected, with one tiny hitch during the plan. Madarame's shadow replaced the treasure with a fake and taunted the thieves with the real treasure when they reached the courtyard. The Shadow revealed that the famous, Sayuri, was actually painted by Yusuke's mother, whom he let die in front of him. As Yusuke's rage at his former master boiled, the Shadow let out a gigantic fit of laughter as it dissolved into a monster made of paintings. The fight was hard fought, as when the painting monster went down, the Shadow Madarame summoned multiple elemental clones of himself to try and kill the thieves with. In the end, the Shadow was no match for the thieves' tenacity and fell to Yusuke's ice attacks. 

Yusuke walked up to the cowering Shadow to steal the Sayuri from the washed up artist. Ren was letting Yusuke take control of the situation until something the Shadow said caught his attention.

"W-What about the other one!? The one in the black mask!?" Madarame exclaimed as Yusuke yanked the painting from the Shadow's weak hands.

The Black Mask? Could there be another person capable of entering the Metaverse? "What did you just say?" Ren asked, fearing the answer. Morgana had come to the same conclusion as Ren.

"There's another person invading Palaces besides us?" Morgana yelled out in shock.

Ren was desperate to get an answer out of the Shadow, this person in the Black Mask could be dangerous. "Hey! What did you mean by a black mask!?" Ren yelled out to the Shadow, but it was too late. The Shadow had already dissolved into bright particles of light. No answers would be given today, as the thieves had to immediately make for their escape, as the Shadow dissolving meant the Palace came crashing around them. 

The thieves emerged in front of Madarame's estate, with Yusuke holding the 'real' Sayuri in his hands. Ren could tell the painting meant a lot to the young man, as it was the last remaining memory he could have of his mother. 

"So now that we've changed Madarame's heart, what do we do now?" Yusuke asked, wondering what he should do now. 

"We wait to see the affects of the change of heart, my guess is he'll come public with the info when the exhibit is over." Morgana responded to the young artist. 

"I see, thank you all for your help. Without you, I'd still be trapped in the mindset Madarame forced me into." Yusuke said while bowing his head.

"Don't sweat it man, we wouldn't have made it through the Palace without your help." Ren said, between this and Ryuji's reaction after Kamoshida's change of heart, Ren realized he didn't like people being grateful to him. He felt like he didn't deserve it. 

"But, what Madarame said is getting to me. He said someone in a black mask was also there. That has to be another person capable of entering the Metaverse." Ren said with a much more serious tone.

Morgana nodded the best his cat body could. "I agree, a Shadow saying something like that is a massive red flag. I suggest we move with caution from here on out." 

The thieves all nodded at each other and broke for the day. Ren entered Leblanc and crashed into his bed, the mattress providing immediate relief to his sore body. Phantom Thief work was satisfying but man it was exhausting. While his body was still his mind was anything but. The Black Mask comment alerted Ren on so many levels and his brain kept asking questions about what it could mean. Who are they? How long have they been at this? Could this have anything to do with the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns? There had to be a link with that last question, what Morgana said about killing a Shadow before facing Kamoshida lined up perfectly with how the psychotic breakdowns were described in the news. Morgana seemed to notice Ren's face making all sorts of weird motions and pawed Ren's face.

"Ren, I know the black mask comment is getting to you but we can't worry about that right now. You need to rest, we had a long day today." Morgana said with a compassionate look in his cat eyes.

"You're right, it's just, it could answer so many questions about what's going on in the world. It's too much to take in at once." Ren said with a hushed tone to his voice.

"Exactly, which is why you should sleep on it. You're tired and your mind can't handle all of it right now. Try getting some rest Ren, then we can talk about the black mask at a later time." Morgana said, trying to calm the Phantom Thief leader down. 

Ren let out a sigh and looked back up at the cat, "You're right Morgana, I'll try and get some sleep. I've got a lot to think about and a rested mind will help me through it all." Ren said as he laid back into his pillow, almost instantly passing out. He had been more tired than he realized. He should get his rest though, had a long week in front of him. But at the end of it, he'd see his father for the first time in two years, and he couldn't wait for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters from here on will be a lot more spaced out in release schedule. As I've realized that if I don't have any ideas that could conceivably change or set up for future events that I should just skip them. I'm sorry if you were interested in my possible interpretations of certain events in the story but just assume that if I skip it, it might as well have gone unchanged from the original. Next chapter will have Ren's dad make a physical appearance for the first time and the start of the Kaneshiro arc, so look forward to it. I apologize once again about skipping much of the Madarame arc, but I felt there wasn't much that could change with my take on Ren.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren's father arrives in Japan for a business trip, a father son reunion at hand. However, Ren's impromptu decision might jeopardize the entire team.

5/27

Tom stepped out from the Tokyo International Airport to gaze at the city skyline of Tokyo. It had been 4 years since he last came to Japan and he forgot how much he adored the country every time he returned. Sure he always got looks for being a 6'2" bulky man but he never cared, the atmosphere of Japan was always a treat to Tom. Tom made sure practice up on his Japanese for the trip, while his American accent made everything sound slightly off, Tom was just happy he was able to fully communicate with everyone he knew in the country. Tom hailed a taxi down to make his way to Yongen Jaya, he didn't care to go to his hotel first, he had a friend and son to meet which took priority. Tom remembered one thing that he had to do since the last visit to Japan, wear long sleeve shirts or a jacket at all times. His arms covered in tattoos always made people terrified of him in public, Tom knew why it just made him sad. The art of tattoos had all sorts of ugly connotations in Japan, thus Tom always wore his suit jacket when in Japan. Tom never liked wearing fancy clothing, always felt like someone should know what he was really like when meeting with him rather than this fancy business man shtick. Well, those looks didn't matter right now, cause the taxi had pulled up to Yongen Jaya and dropped Tom off. 

Tom walked through the quaint back streets of the little community, Tom always thought the atmosphere of this part of town was pleasant. A quiet escape from the bustling streets of Tokyo, Tom arrived at the doorway to Sojiro's cafe, Leblanc. He had messaged Sojiro and Ren earlier to be expecting him to arrive at some point in the evening. Tom walked through the door to see Sojiro smoking a cigarette behind the counter of the cafe, "Well if it isn't the man of the hour. How was your trip here Tom?" Sojiro said putting out his cigarette and reaching his hand out to Tom. 

Tom responded with a firm shake and said, "It was great! Being able to communicate with everyone with speech and not just pointing at things I want done makes a hell of a difference!" 

Sojiro laughed at that remark, "Well I'm glad, your Japanese has gotten better since last time I saw ya. Your accent still sounds kinda weird but eh, makes your dialect unique." 

Tom laughed at that last comment before setting his suitcase down next to his chair at the counter, "So, where's Ren?" 

"Out with his friends, went to grab some food with them before coming back to see you apparently." Sojiro scoffed.

"Eh it's fine, let him be with his friends. I'm not going anywhere tonight. So, how's the cafe been treating ya?" Tom asked as Sojiro brewed him a coffee.

Sojiro shrugged as he grabbed the fresh pot, "Not too busy but the regulars pay the bills, not much to complain about aside from a shitty customer every couple weeks."

"You can never escape a shitty customer, no matter the business." Tom said as he took a sip of the coffee Sojiro had brewed for him. "Hmm, Colombian Narino?" Tom asked. Tom always enjoyed taking blind tastes of Sojiro's coffee, as no matter what kind of beans he used, Sojiro's coffee was top of the line. 

Sojiro shook his head with a massive grin on his face, "Close but no cigar my friend! That's Cuban Crystal Mountain, you probably got the nutty flavors confused." 

Tom let out a yell of defeat, "One day Sojiro! One day I'll get it right on the first try!" The two then sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, letting the ramblings of evening talk shows fill the room. Tom's expression then turned sour, as he remembered that he needed to ask Sojiro about his recent custody win.

"So," the wording cutting the silence like a hot knife to butter, "how's Futaba holding up?" 

Sojiro's expression changed to a sullen one, as he looked down at the counter in front of him. "Not any better than last time I talked to you about her. She still won't leave her room unless no one else is in the house. She only ever talks to me but she's still so distant. I'm not sure if I can do anymore for her but I can't let her go back to him." Sojiro's eyes flared in a fiery anger as he finished his statement. Tom regretted bringing the topic up, it was clearly a sore spot for Sojiro.

"I'm sorry for bringing the topic up, this was supposed to be a night of happy reunions and I brought down the mood." Tom said with sadness in his voice, if only he could have gotten to her sooner, maybe she wouldn't be in this depression. Sojiro then grabbed Tom by the shoulder giving him a reassuring look.

"Tom, it's fine. I still consider you part of her family so you have every right to know how she's doing. Believe me, when you told me how Yui reacted to the entire situation, I was beyond furious." Tom's expression changed from sad to relieved. The last thing he wanted to do was make Sojiro more sullen about the entire situation, what a mess it was. Tom's thoughts on the situation had been cut short as he heard the bell of the door ring. 

"I'm telling you man that beef bowl place we went to was way better! Cheaper too!" Ryuji exclaimed while the gang walked into Yongen Jaya, returning from a rather unremarkable sushi restaurant that had left them all rather hollow.

"Food being cheaper and more appetizing is an appealing prospect to me, I say we go there next time instead of the horrible restaurant we went to tonight." Yusuke said while clutching his stomach, the bad sushi giving him stomach pains.

"I get it was trash guys, but don't worry. Sojiro's curry will save the night. Absolutely astounding how good it is." Ren said while guiding the others to Leblanc, he hadn't mentioned to his friends that his father arrived in Tokyo so he wanted to surprise them with meeting him. 

"You better be right about his curry, I feel so sad after that sushi..." Ann said while carrying a sleeping Morgana in her bag. Morgana would be satisfied with fatty tuna from everywhere so he was sound asleep after an ungodly amount of fatty tuna. Ren would need to make sure Morgana got his exercise, because at this rate, his reality form would be quite the fat cat. 

The gang approached the doorway when Ryuji said, "Who's the white guy chatting it up with Sojiro?" Ann then lit up at this response, "Oh right! It's the 27th! Is that your dad?"

Ren nodded, "He is, let's go inside so I can introduce you all." Ren lead the group inside Leblanc, where after 2 years, he'd finally reunite with his dad. Ren walked in to see the man exactly as he remembered him, long brown hair, tall and muscular and a welcoming aura that would relax anyone that met him. The urge to run up and hug his father broke his stoicism for a moment. "Dad!" Ren said as he ran up to hug his dad, it had been so long since he had last seen him he was worried he would never see his father again. The tight leash his mother kept him on would constrain him his entire life he thought, but things had changed. Despite being on probation, he was free, free to be who he is and be with those he considered his family. 

Tom stood up to return the hug, his eyes welling up as he got to be with his son once again. He and Ren had been so casual about him coming to Japan that they both forgot how much they missed each other. "It's good to see ya buddy. Hey look at that! You actually got a few inches closer to me! Maybe you'll catch up to me one day." Tom then pushed himself back a bit to look behind Ren, the other thieves looking a little nervous. "Well are you gonna introduce me to your friends or what?" 

Ren then shook himself to focus again, "Oh, right! This is Ryuji, this is Ann and this is Yusuke." Ren said pointing to his respective friends, hoping they all would make a good impression. 

"It's nice to meet you man! Ren's talked a lot about you!" Ryuji said over Ann's shoulder.

Ann waved her hand at Tom while saying, "It's nice to meet you!"

Yusuke bowed and said, "Your son has been an exceptional friend in the short time since I've met him, it's a pleasure to meet you sir." 

Tom bowed to the 3 thieves, "I should be the one saying it's nice to meet you all. I haven't seen Ren this happy in a long time, you're all wonderful friends to my son, so for that I thank you. Let's stop standing around though and sit in one of the booths." 

The group made their way to the nearby booth and started making conversation. Ren then remembered that he had promised the gang some of Sojiro's curry as forgiveness for the sushi. "Hey Boss, can you make us some curry? Dinner was kind of a bust for us." 

Tom then gave Ren a baffled look, "What did you just call him?" 

"Boss? He told me to call him that, everyone does it apparently." Ren said curiously, what could his dad mean?

"Tom don't say another word." Sojiro said while grabbing the pot of curry from the stove.

After Sojiro's comment Tom let out a hearty laugh, "Oh Sojiro you're really gonna play that card with my son? Lemme tell him what he should really call you!"

"If he calls me that I'm kicking him out." Sojiro said, placing the plates of curry in front of the group of friends, each of them thanking Sojiro for the food.

Tom ignored Sojiro's comment, "So Ren, last time Sojiro saw you was when you were 4, and when he saw you, he demanded to be called Uncle Sojiro." 

Ren stared at his father, baffled by the comment. The hard ass Sojiro demanded to be called Uncle when Ren was younger, the entire group of thieves laughed loudly while Sojiro groaned at the reminder. Morgana suddenly woke up and jumped out of Ann's bag, surprising Tom.

"So who's cat is this?" Tom asked while Morgana looked him over.

"How many times must I repeat myself!? I am not a cat!" Morgana meowed at Tom, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't understand him.

"He's my cat, he was abandoned near my school and wouldn't leave me alone. Uncle Sojiro seems to be a softy for cats and let me keep him." Ren said, flashing a smirk at Sojiro.

"That's strike 1, you've got two left." Sojiro said while cleaning a cup, everyone laughing at that remark.

The evening had gone really well, if a little short since the group had returned rather late to Leblanc. Tom had made plans with Ren for just him and his son while he remained in Tokyo, as great as his friends seemed to be he wanted to spend some time alone with his son. A father son bonding experience they haven't had in years. After saying goodbyes Tom headed back to his hotel, laying in bed, just staring at the ceiling. Ren and his friends arriving in the nick of time got his mind off it for a while but he couldn't stop thinking about Futaba. A little girl he considered family was stuck in a depression that no one could heal. 'None of this should be like this.' Tom thought. He could have stopped Futaba from going to her Uncle, stopped her being abused by him, but Yui refused him because of a disgusting grudge she still held all these years later against Wakaba. He still couldn't believe Yui's words when Tom pleaded with her to take custody of Futaba, 'Maybe she should've gotten married before getting knocked up so Futaba could have a father to lean on!' 

The words echoed in Tom's head like a record on repeat, how could Yui be so heartless to an innocent child? Futaba was only 12 years old going on 13, and she was being sent to her uncle who Tom know couldn't raise a kid at all. Futaba would be abused by that man and Tom could do nothing about it. The very least Tom could be thankful for is that Futaba was under the care of Sojiro now, but that depression, Sojiro had mentioned how she was a little apprehensive around him at first but after a few months she warmed up to the man. But about 3 months ago she completely shut herself off, only emerging from her room to get food and use the bathroom. Tom couldn't blame Sojiro for feeling helpless, but something needed to change soon, or Futaba's mind would be damaged forever.

Tom would sadly need to cast those thoughts aside for now, as Ren would need to be his focus over these few days. He hadn't been in the same space as his son in years and he wanted both of them to make the most of it.

6/2

Ren walked down the Shibuya strip, stopping by Untouchable for a routine selling of items gathered in Mementos. The recent trip had led them to gathering a massive amount of treasure and money from battles due to the weather conditions. Iwai gave him the typical look he expected with all the treasure he placed on his counter, with Ren flashing a cocky grin back at him. Ren walked out of Untouchable with 400,000 yen in his wallet, very suspicious looking to anyone watching him. Ren would soon realize that someone was. Ren turned the corner of the alley to see a young brown haired girl staring past her book she hid behind. 'Is that Niijima? And is she, staring at me?' Ren thought as he fiddled with his bag. As Ren exited the alley way the young girl held her manga even higher, walking away from the alleyway. 'Must have been my imagination' Ren thought. 

Ren continued down the road down to the convenience store to grab himself a drink before catching his train to meet his dad for a final dinner before he went back to Hawaii. Ren exited the store to see Makoto Niijima once again staring past her manga across the street. 'Alright this is the second time, something is up.' Ren thought. As a little test, Ren decided to head to the Protein Lovers gym he and Ryuji had been using, not to exercise but to see if she would follow. Ren made his way to the entrance of the gym before looking to his left, to see Makoto Niijima once again at the corner of the alley. Ren having enough of this decided to ask her what she was doing. Ren walked back to the street, directly to Makoto.

"You mind telling me why you're following me around Niijima-senpai? Not that I mind much I just think it's a little odd." Ren asked while looking over her manga. The poor girl shrunk into herself, holding her manga close to her chest. Ren noticed a little silver ring escaping from the bottom of the manga. She was hiding a notebook inside her manga! She was gathering evidence, for an investigation, that's what it had to be.

"O-Oh! Amamiya-san! I'm sorry if it looked like that, well it was that actually...

I just wanted to see what you did after school!" Makoto said sheepishly. Ren could tell something was troubling her, a look in her eye didn't strike him as intimidating. She looked curious more than anything, she had to know Ren was involved in the Phantom Thieves, but did she really want to expose them? 'I'm tired of dancing around this.' Ren thought. He would be taking a big risk with this next move, but something within him told him he could trust her. He didn't feel threatened under her gaze despite her position in the school, he felt like she needed help out of a difficult situation.

Ren sighed and took off his glasses, putting them in his front pocket, glancing around before saying, "Look, if this is about the calling card and Kamoshida, I will discuss this with you in a few days. You don't strike me as the type to rat out your fellow students, so I'm going to trust you."

Morgana started rustling in Ren's bag, probably mouthing all sorts of profanity and questions in there because of Ren's decision. Makoto meanwhile slammed her book in shock, her eyes as wide as saucers. "H-How did you know that's what I was doing?" she asked in complete bewilderment. 

Ren shrugged his shoulders and gave her a confident look, "I'm good at reading people, I get it from my dad. Now, can you stop following me now that you have your answer? Give me a few days to actually plan a meeting with you, my dad is leaving Japan tomorrow and I'm going to dinner with him right now. Consider me coming forward as an act of good will, as I feel like we both have each others interests in the end." 

Makoto's posture relaxed, she finally had her lead and could ask the thieves to prove themselves to her. "Alright then Amamiya-san, I'll take your word. I'll be nearby the student council room after school everyday until you're ready to speak with me. You coming forward to me, even after I tailed you, has given me confidence that you'll follow through on what you said. See you at school then." Makoto said while bowing and making her way back to the subway station.

Ren let out a sigh of relief as Morgana scrambled out of his bag. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!? YOU JUST TOLD THE PERSON INVESTIGATING US THAT WE ARE THE PHANTOM THIEVES!" Morgana screamed out, to anyone walking by this cat was beyond talkative. 

Ren put his glasses back on, "The only person who had any suspicion of us being Phantom Thieves now trusts me. I'd say that's a pretty big win in our book, and it's clear she didn't wanna turn us in. She's curious about our methods more than anything I think. Maybe she wants to see if what we're doing is ethical or not." 

Morgana stared at Ren, a little dumbfounded. "Wow, you sure thought ahead. Here I thought you just did it cause you thought she was cute."

"Well her being cute is certainly part of what made doing that so easy."

"Ugh" Morgana said, tucking himself back into the bag. Ren then made his way to the Shibuya train station, going to meet his dad at a barbecue place for dinner.

Tom met his son at the Kichijoji station, choosing the barbecue place at his son's request. They walked to the restaurant and took their seats, cooking their meal on the grill in front of them. Tom made some conversation in English for some extra privacy, "So, how's school life aside from your friends? Teachers being a pain in the ass to you?" 

Ren wasn't expecting the English and took a second to respond, "Oh there's one teacher that's a dick, if I doze off in class he throws chalk at me. He's never actually hit me though, I always dodge at the last second, seems to piss him off even more." 

Tom laughed at that story, a surge of pride swelling inside him. Ren's inner rebel against those in power could finally come out now that he was out of the watchful eye of his mother and Tom loved to see it. "So aside from him no other teachers giving you shit?"

"Yeah, rest of the teachers are either nice to me or indifferent. Mainly indifferent, English teacher seems to like me since I'm so fluent already." 

"That's nice to hear." Tom took a sip of his drink before leaning in, "So, anyone caught your eye yet?" 

Ren leaned back while sipping on his water, "Well..."

Tom leaned in even further, a curious look on his face, "Oh? What's their name?"

"I think I've caught a girl's eye rather than her catching my eye. Caught her tailing me on my way here." Ren said with a smug grin on his face.

Tom leaned back, even more pride in his heart, "Well aren't you the ladies man. Didn't tell me her name though." 

"Her name is Makoto, she's the student council president. She's _really_ cute, I've got like half a foot on her. Her eyes are such a bright brown they might as well be red. She was tailing me while pretending to read a manga really close to her face. And...

I'm rambling aren't I?" Ren said, a little embarrassed, just how badly did he have it for Makoto?

Tom responded to the rambling with a hearty laugh, placing his hand on his son's shoulder, "Ren, you've got it bad for her. You need to act on those feelings soon or else you'll regret it later. Try asking her out, never hurts to try, plus I can tell she's also very interested in you so her saying no is probably a low possibility."

Ren thought about it for a moment, maybe he could come clean on the details of the Phantom Thieves and asked what she wanted over dinner, it'd be a weird start but a start none the less. "I'll make sure to do that, thanks dad."

The dinner continued as they ate their beef, the food perfectly sizzling on the grill. Ren and Tom made their way out after finishing their food, walking back to the Kichijoji station to head back to Leblanc. Once the two returned to Leblanc, they waited outside to give each other their goodbyes.

"Thanks for hanging out with me dad, you being here means a lot." 

"I'm sorry I couldn't squeeze more time in for you and your friends but this Japanese agency wanted to go over every detail of the contract we wrote up. I promise to try and come again some time this year, on my own time, not company time." 

The father and son gave each other a hug before parting ways, hoping to see each other again some time soon. Ren walked into Leblanc and slammed down into his bed, his dad leaving would need to be at the back of his mind, as Madarame's press conference was coming soon and he needed to plan for the meeting with Makoto. Did he regret doing what he did with Makoto? Not at all. Did he regret not consulting the team before hand? Yes. He was the leader and in charge of every final decision but they always did things as a group, and an impulse decision he made could ruin everything. He would need to play the next couple weeks very carefully, or else everything they've worked for could come crashing down on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been at this chapter for a couple days and it's been really hard to write with, world events and such. I wanted to get the chapter out today as I finally got to a point with it where I'm happy with how it turned out. 
> 
> Aside from all that, just what is Tom's relation to Futaba? Wanna see your guesses as to what I'm planning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The request that Makoto gives the team is one that gives immediate danger to them all.

6/10

It had been a few days since Madarame confessed to his crimes on live television, which made Makoto more antsy about meeting with Ren. Ren and Makoto agreed to meet in the student council room on the 11th which would be tomorrow. Ren was excited and dreading the encounter, as the team had gotten frustrated with him for his hot headed decision without consulting them all first. So after an earful from the rest of them, Ren agreed to only divulge that they are the Phantom Thieves and answer questions vaguely, and if Ren's hunch was correct, that would get Makoto off their trail. Today however, he would have to survive something even worse than his student council president possibly grilling him. He would have to survive being in the audience of a terrible morning talk show.

The show was going the same as yesterday, today with a special twist, the 'Detective Prince' himself Goro Akechi was being interviewed. Ren barely paid attention to the talk show until a question posed by a host, "So Akechi-san, what do you think of the Phantom Thieves?" Ren's attention was caught by that, as having such a popular figure speak on them could mean good or bad things for the thieves, Ren expected it to be bad.

"Well regardless of the crimes they expose they are nothing more than dangerous criminals. Dangerous vigilantes who work around our justice system." Akechi said with a disdain in his voice, his distaste for the thieves being obvious. The audience of students chattered among themselves, blindly following Akechi's opinion. The host then said something that Ren dreaded about being part of an audience, "How about we ask someone in the crowd for their opinion?" All Ren could think was "If I get picked I'm gonna say something I'm gonna regret later..."

The host walked down the aisle, almost like he knew who he was picking before even getting there, instantly shoving a mic in Ren's face. "What do you think of the Phantom Thieves?" Ren sighed and leaned forward, "I'm the wrong person to ask that question to, I already think our justice system is corrupt to its core so I think it's good people are working around it." The response seemed to shock Akechi, who quickly regained his composure to ask Ren, "Why do you think our justice system is corrupt? I'm quite curious as to why you think that." 

"Our country has a conviction rate of 99.9%, people's rights are taken away during trial and interrogation, not to mention how buddy buddy prosecutors are with cops and judges, leading them to falsify evidence to get a guilty charge. Should I continue or do you want me to stop 'disrespecting our country's justice system'?" Ren let his anger take hold for a second, he had studied the justice system in Japan since his trial and what he discovered disturbed him. Suspects being forced into interrogations without chances of getting a lawyer or being stripped of their rights. This justice system was diseased to the core and needed extensive reform.

Akechi's calm attitude seemed to crack a bit, his eyes filled with what Ren could only describe as silent fury. He never lost his smile however, "You seem to know quite a lot about the justice system, are you perhaps interested in law for university?"

"No. I just like being informed, don't like those in authority much either. Now get that mic out of my face."

Ren shot the host an angry look as the host hurried back to the stage, Ren then slumped into his seat wondering why he did that. Ryuji on the other hand was beyond pumped at Ren telling Akechi off like that, looking at Ren with a shit eating smirk that lifted Ren's mood a bit. The show closed out and as Ren tried to make his exit, Akechi walked up to him, "That was quite the rant you went on, I appreciate the bluntness of your response." 

"Thanks, I guess? Don't have much reason to have trust in our system, so I'm not gonna sugar coat what I have to say about it." 

Akechi laughed at that response, "You aren't like most people in Japan are you? What's your name?" 

Ren stiffened up, he had to be on guard around Akechi, his actions yesterday were insanely suspicious. "Oh, it's Ren, Ren Amamiya. And yeah I'd say I'm not like most people, I'm half American and grew up in America for most of my life." 

Akechi looked shocked at that detail, aside from Ren's bizarre height for a 16 year old he didn't get much from his dad so no one really knew, even the detective prince. 

"Oh? You're half American? No wonder you have such a distrust for the justice system."

"I've got other reasons, but yeah, let's go with that one." 

"Well if you don't mind would you like to exchange phone numbers? I'm interested in hearing your perspective on things, it's not often I get to hear a foreigner's perspective on our system." Akechi said while pulling out his phone. 'Is he serious about this?' Ren thought, he really wanted to just talk? Couldn't hurt, maybe he'd be able to learn more about his suspicions of Akechi and his involvement with the Metaverse. "Uh sure, here's my number."

"Great! Now I should be going, I'll be sure to get in contact with you when I have free time." Akechi said before walking away, this was all too weird to Ren. A massive celebrity just gave him his number like it was nothing. Just, what was Akechi's game plan?

6/11

Today was the day, the meeting with Makoto. Ren had steeled himself, ready for any question she could throw at him. Ren exited his last class of the day to meet Makoto at the student council room, "Hello Niijima-senpai, sorry it took this long to meet." Ren didn't know why he was acting so proper, was he scared or just trying to make a good impression? She seemed a little wound up herself, while her face exuded a calm aura, her fingers curling up and down told another story.

"Ah Amamiya-san, it's alright, you being willing to talk about this has put my mind at ease for this." Makoto welcomed Ren, guiding the both of them into the student council room. They sat at opposite sides of the table, Ren noticed she had her notebook from the other day on the desk. 'I wonder how much she has in there, hopefully not a lot' Ren thought before shaking himself to focus on the meeting at hand. "So, how do you wanna start this?" he asked before folding his arms.

Makoto seemed surprised at Ren's sudden confidence, "O-Oh well I suppose we could start by me asking if you are who you say you are."

"That I'm a member of the Phantom Thieves? Yes I am, the leader in fact. I will be as honest as I can during this Niijima-senpai, you may not get the answers you want out of me but I'll answer what I can." Ren had to play this carefully, if she could tell he was a Phantom Thief then she had to have known about everyone else. While he didn't think she would turn them in right now there was always the chance, and Ren had to keep that in mind with everything he said.

"Oh I wasn't intending this to be an interrogation, consider it more of, a request." Makoto said calmly back to the panicking boy.

'A request? What does she want from us?' Ren thought. "Well then, what's the request that you have?"

"I wish for you to prove yourselves as just to me. That you aren't abusing people in what you're doing and you are what you say you are, on the side of true justice." Makoto said her demand with perfect candor. Ren was a little dumbfounded at the request, he expected her to be more curious about the thieves than anything but a flat out request was not in the cards in Ren's mind.

"O-Oh well then. What does this request entail?"

"I want you to change the heart of someone I know is a criminal, someone who is abusing students outside of the school." Makoto took a second to pause, almost as if the next part of her sentence shook her. "I want you to change the heart of a mafia boss." That was a jump to say the least, a gym teacher to a famous artist was already quite the leap, but a mafia boss was a step above all of it. Finding his palace could be dangerous in reality for the team, they could be killed for even attempting to investigate him. Ren needed to play this seriously, as Makoto's request could help a lot of people in the long run.

"I need his full name, do you have it?" 

"Sadly I only have his surname, Kaneshiro." 

"Well it's a start, any idea where his hub of activity is? Investigating him will require us to know where he works."

"I've heard that several Shujin students get their 'work' in Shibuya, it probably serves as his hub of operations." 

Shibuya huh? Maybe Iwai knew something about it, or Yoshida could be another witness to Shujin students doing this 'work'. Ren would have to play this investigation well, as the entire team could be at risk if word gets to Kaneshiro that some people are asking around for him. "Well, I guess the investigation starts now, I appreciate the lead Niijima-senpai." Ren said as he stood up from his chair to the door of the student council room, he paused when he opened the door when Makoto said one more thing.

"Thank you Amamiya-san for being so forward and understanding with this, I'm sorry for all of this..." Makoto said while lowering her head into the table. 'She seems so tired, does she have anyone else in her life? I knew she seemed isolated but she's carrying all this stress on her own...' Ren thought.

"Please, just call me Ren. And it's fine, I can tell you're tired, so if you ever need anyone to vent your sorrows to, I'm all ears." Ren said, not quite sure if that expression translated all that well into Japanese. The meaning seemed to land on Makoto however, who perked up at that response.

"T-thank you Ren...

Call me just Makoto as well..." Makoto said while flashing a smile at Ren. 'Her smile isn't reaching her eyes...' Ren thought as he flashed a gentle smile back at her. Ren let out a sigh, worried about Makoto's state and made his way back to Leblanc to discuss the plan with the team.

"She wants us to take on a Mafia boss!?" Ann yelled out in the attic of Leblanc, almost forgetting the cafe was still open. 

"She said his group has been targeting Shujin students, she wasn't sure what he was doing, she just knows that Shujin students have been taking on 'jobs' in Shibuya." Ren said with his finger against his forehead, racking to think of a plan of how to figure out the guys full name.

"I'm sure whatever racket he's got going is abusing the students somehow so I'm all for going after him, but we don't even know the guy's full name. How do we even begin?" Ryuji said finishing off the hot pot they had prepared.

The team sat in silence for a while as they all had no answers as to where to begin, until Yusuke broke the silence. "You mentioned a reporter that was investigating Madarame at the same time as you correct? Maybe she might have information regarding this Kaneshiro?" 

Ren stood straight up at that suggestion, "Yusuke you genius! She definitely knows something! I'll be sure to contact her tonight and try and schedule something with her!" 

The rest of the team looked a little perplexed at Ren's sudden enthusiasm, Ren wasn't typically this hyper active about anything, keeping his emotions held back in most situations. "Uhh, dude? There a reason you're this pumped about this? Getting this excited is usually a me thing." Ryuji said scratching the back of his head. 

Well the cat was out of the bag now, Ren hadn't realized how excited he truly was for this job. Was helping Makoto that exciting to him? Ren sighed as he leaned back, "I just think Makoto needs some help herself, she's hiding a lot of stress behind her eyes. I think she doesn't like the position she's in deep down." 

Ryuji stared at Ren with his mouth agape, "Dude, you just called the Prez by her first name. You wanna explain that part?"

As Ann had an increasingly annoyed look on her face Ren explained, "I told her to stop calling me Amamiya-san, I've never liked honorifics in the first place but I just wanted her to call me Ren. She returned the favor and told me to just call her Makoto." 

Suddenly Ann shot up and began walking out of the attic, "I'm heading home, message me when we have more of a plan set up." The rest of the thieves shot each other looks of concern when Ann made her way out of the cafe. All the thieves wordlessly agreed that something was wrong, "I'm gonna go see what's up with her." Ren said, standing up from his chair to follow Ann out of the cafe.

Ren didn't take long to catch up with Ann, as she had stopped at the corner before the Yongen train station to sit alone. "I thought you said you were heading home?" Ren said as he approached Ann, who shot him a scowl Ren hadn't seen her give since Kamoshida, she was mad at him. What she was mad at him for Ren couldn't tell, but it was getting to her so Ren had to solve the issue.

"Go back to the cafe Ren, I'm not in the mood." Ann dismissed Ren, hoping he would relent and just walk back. Ren however, was much more stubborn than that and Ann seemed to forget that. Ren used the same tactic as last time he had to calm Ann down to get her to talk.

"Ann, as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, it's my duty to know when my teammates are mad and it's my job to solve that anger. Tell me what's wrong." Ren said in English, hoping to get Ann to just say what was troubling her in the open. Ren's tactic had worked and Ann stood up to look Ren in the face.

"I think it's just a little shitty of you to play nice with the girl who let Kamoshida roam free in our school. She was investigating and stalking you Ren! She was trying to turn us all in! How can you just play nice with her like that!?" Ann said, her voice shaking under every word she spoke. She felt like Ren had betrayed her trust, working with those who let Kamoshida's abuse happen in the first place. Obviously Makoto couldn't have stopped Kamoshida as the corruption went all the way to the principal. 

"Ann, Makoto couldn't do anything about Kamoshida and you know it. The Principal was protecting Kamoshida and Makoto has little authority over that. And while Makoto didn't tell me, I can tell she's been put up to this, probably by the principal. I can understand your apprehension at me making the proactive choice to go to her and talk to her, but would you rather she continued to investigate us and get information to blackmail us with? Or this situation where we can possibly break her free from the Principal's thumb and prove ourselves to her?" Ren said all this with a strict but understanding tone, his time with Yoshida helping his communication skills. 

Ann didn't have much rebuttal to what Ren had to say to her, she sighed, "Look Ren, I get what you're saying, it's just gonna take some time for me to believe that she's really what you've said she is." 

"And that's fine." Ren responded almost immediately. 

The response surprised Ann, "W-What?"

"No one is gonna be friends with everyone instantly. People are weird and emotions can get in the way of how we think a lot of the time. Did I do this out of a crush I have on her? Yeah probably, but at the end of the day it worked out for the best for all of us.

...Wait what did I just say?" 

Ann's expression relaxed as Ren's guard went down, "Alright lover boy, I understand. I'll try and keep my head in the game for this, I think I just need to go home to cool my head. Let me know how that reporter lead comes through." Ann said while waving her hand as she walked away. Ren didn't mean to reveal that part about Makoto to anyone, it just sorta, fell out of his mouth. Ren facepalmed as his act as the leader who knows exactly what to say had been shattered in one fell swoop. Ren made his way back to the cafe as Yusuke still needed to figure out where he was sleeping for the night.

6/12

Until Ohya texted Ren back the best the thieves could do is investigate on their own in the city and the school for any sort of lead. Ren was able to get a student who was implicated in the scheme to spill the details of the jobs he was doing. The student said that a random man approached him one day asking if he wanted to deliver an envelope to a specific location for cash. Since then, the student has been stuck being their delivery boy out of fear of being blackmailed. 

"A mafia organization forcing kids to deliver envelopes...

What do yo-" Morgana said before getting cut off by Ren.

"It's gotta be drugs."

"You really think so?"

"It has to be, way he talked about it, they seem to be blackmailing him with pictures of him delivering the goods." Ren said while exiting the school.

"That's pretty serious then." Morgana said.

Ren felt his phone buzz in his pocket as he headed for the train station. 

_Ryuji: Anyone find out any specifics? No one would talk to me about it._

_Yusuke: Same here. Most students here at Kosei didn't want to get into specifics of what the odd jobs were._

_Ann: I thought I almost got someone to spill the details, then Ren came by and took him away. Did he tell you anything Ren?_

_Ren: It's a drug trafficking racket. They ask students if they wanna deliver a package for some cash then black mail the students with pictures of them delivering the drugs._

_Ryuji: That's serious shit. I checked on the Phan-site and I'm seeing multiple requests that involve Shibuya and drugs._

_Yusuke: I suggest we take our search to Shibuya next then, we might find lackeys of who we're searching for._

_Ann: I was thinking that too, I'm heading there right now, I'll look around the underground mall for some leads._

_Yusuke: I'll search around the walkway then._

_Ryuji: I've got station square covered then._

_Ren: That leaves me with Central Street. Keep me updated on anything you guys find suspicious while you're searching._

Ren put his phone away as he entered the train to Shibuya, exiting on his stop to begin his investigation in Central Street. His search led him to talking to a homeless man who told him to stay away from that crowd, saying they'll trap you in that line of work for a long time and there's next to no hope of escaping. That information only made Ren even more curious, which led him to alleyway off of Central Street. Suddenly, Makoto appeared from around the corner, "Well, hello there." 

Ren jumped at her introduction, why was she here? To make sure he was keeping his word? "What are you doing here Makoto?" 

"I'm just here to try and help the best I can. Can't call myself Student President if I leave all the work to you now can I?" 

That's what this was about? This was dangerous! How could she bring herself here!? As if on cue, a suspicious looking man appeared from behind Makoto and Ren. "Hey kids, you interested in some work?" 

'Oh perfect.' Ren thought, knowing this was probably his only chance to get word on who was running this whole ring. Before Ren could even respond, Makoto suddenly took charge of the situation. "Oh? And what kind of work would that be?" 

'What is she thinking!?' Ren thought, "That's on a need to know basis and you don't need to know. Now do you want the job or not girly?" the thug said as his tone got increasingly more and more annoyed. 

'Oh no here it comes.' Ren worried as the situation seemed to be getting more and more hostile. "If we're going to take work I'd like to know what exactly we'd be doing." Makoto said in a tone that Ren found attractive and worrying at the same time, she was saying this to a hardened criminal, just what was she thinking!?

"You're attitude is annoying me bitch!" The thug said as he approached Ren and Makoto. Without thinking, Ren stepped in between the thug and Makoto with the fiercest scowl he could muster. "Take another step, I dare you." Ren didn't know what came out of him, he wasn't one to directly threaten someone in reality, but this guy was about to hurt Makoto. 

"R-Ren..." Makoto said as the thug backed off. "Whatever, ain't worth it over a bunch of kids." Ren calmed himself down as the goon left his line of sight. Ren turned to Makoto, bowing, "I don't know what came over me there, I'm sorry."

"Ren you have no need to apologize, I made the situation worse by egging him on." Makoto said with a forlorn expression, "I'll be heading home now..." 

Ren stood in the alleyway for a few minutes, unsure of what to do next. He wanted to help Makoto, she needed the help badly. She looked so alone, she needed friends in her life to lean on. Ren racked his mind for solutions until he felt his phone buzzing, Ohya had responded and asked if they could meet later that night. Reminded that he had a job to do, Ren headed home to prepare for the meeting with the reporter.

6/14

To say the thieves had reached a dead end would be an understatement. They had everything they needed, Junya Kaneshiro's full name and his key words. They just couldn't get into the palace itself as it was suspended thousands of feet into the air. They needed to find a way to reach the bank high in the sky. The gang sat at their hideout, pitching ideas for several minutes.

"Oh dude! Why not use Arsene to fly up there? Like you did in Kamoshida's palace!" Ryuji said in one final idea.

"I already asked him, said that we were only able to do that since Arsene glided for most of the trip back up. Straight shot up is a no go with him. How would I get the rest of you up anyways if I did do that?" 

"You could've brought a rope!" 

"You know where to buy a 2 mile long rope?" 

Ren's dismissal left the thieves silent, with no realistic ideas they couldn't think of any way to get into the bank. Suddenly, "You all appear to be in a rut." Makoto said as she approached the group. Ren wasn't surprised to see her, especially after yesterday.

"Is there something you need? We're discussing our current options for taking care of your request." Yusuke said, trying to dismiss Makoto.

"I just thought I could try and be of some help." Makoto said, trying to keep her stoned attitude up. 

"Like with Kamoshida? Sorry but with what we're doing, you're of no help to us, you're useless." Ann spat out, almost immediately regretting it. Ren shooting her a glare that could kill.

"Useless..." Makoto's attitude dropping completely, her eyes filled with sadness before she stormed off away from the group.

"Ann! What did we talk about!?" Ren said, his eyes drilling into Ann.

"I'm sorry! I lost control for a second there! We need to follow her! If she does what she did yesterday she could get hurt!" Ann responded to Ren with a regretful look.

"You're right. Let's move!" Ren said as he ushered the team out of the walkway, directing them back to Central Street.

"There's too many people here!" Morgana yelled out as the team panicked as to where Makoto could be. Just as Morgana finished saying that, Ren's phone rang from a call from Makoto. 

Ren instantly answered, "Makoto!? Where are you!?" 

"Keep this phone call going and don't speak into your phone." Makoto said while Ren went for the mute on his phone, looking over the crowd for Makoto. Ren could suddenly hear Makoto confronting a group of thugs, demanding to be taken to Kaneshiro. Ren shook in anger as he heard Makoto being shoved into a car by one of Kaneshiro's thugs.

"God dammit Makoto! Everyone! We need to get to the back alley!" Ren yelled out as he lead the group to the alleyway where he and Makoto had encountered the thug yesterday. Ren's anger building further and further as when they got to the alleyway, he saw the car that Makoto was in take off.

"Shit! Hold on I'll grab a taxi!" Ryuji said while waving his arm into the street, "Hey! Stop!" the taxi driving straight past him. "God dammit! I said stop!" Ryuji suddenly jumped into oncoming traffic, forcing the oncoming taxi to come to a screeching halt.

"Ryuji!" Ren and Ann yelled out in unison.

"Look I got us a ride! Just get in!" 

Ren and the others jumped into the taxi, directing the driver to follow the unmarked black car as fast as he could. Ren's leg was bouncing up and down, his anxiety building further and further. He was dreading whatever they were running into, as it posed significant danger to them in their real lives. Right now, all he could do is pray that Makoto would be safe and they would get there in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got quite a bit longer starting with this chapter. Hoping to make this a trend with this story now that I'm getting in the groove of things. Fast tracked a couple of events in game to be a bit earlier than they actually happen. Not sure if I'll keep making that a trend.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto joins the Thieves and Ren comes to understand just how incredible she really is.

Ren was furious, not at Makoto, but at that bastard Kaneshiro. He tried to hurt Makoto and now trying to extort her for money, capturing a photo of Makoto and the thieves in his nightclub and threatening to leak the photo online. The group was able to escape unharmed but with that threat looming over their heads, they had even more motivation to take Kaneshiro down. The Phantom Thieves needed to change Kaneshiro's heart more now than ever, else they would be feeling the ramifications in their real lives. The thieves made their way back to Shibuya in silence, Ren staying close to Makoto as they walked. They all paused when Makoto finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry for asking you all for this, I just made it even worse..."

Ren sighed, "Makoto you have nothing to apologize for. We're gonna fix this and make sure Kaneshiro doesn't leak those pictures." 

Makoto whined at this, "Can we please drop this!? I made this situation worse for all of us!"

"No can do Miss Prez, we're all in this together now." Ryuji chimed in.

"We have all the more motivation to take on Kaneshiro, I'm surprised you're trying to talk us out of it now." Yusuke said while Makoto hugged herself with her arms, wanting to just escape into herself.

"Didn't expect the dude to be that fat...

If only she could get us to the bank that easily." Ryuji blurted out, causing Ren and the others to facepalm. Ryuji's comment did spark a thought within Ren, what if Makoto could actually get them into the bank?

"Bank?" Makoto asked, confused as to what Ryuji meant by a bank.

"Ryuji! You genius!" Morgana exclaimed, "Kaneshiro's cognition of Makoto could be exactly what we need!"

Ren gave the idea some thought, Morgana could be right, Makoto technically owes Kaneshiro money now so she would be someone to get money from. The ATM people in the palace talked about being 'customers' of Kaneshiro, Makoto and the others were now one of those customers.

"Morgana you might be right, but are we absolutely certain that's how that would work?" Ren inquired, not wanting to put Makoto in any unnecessary harm.

"I'm not sure if we have any other ideas Ren, this is our only shot left." Ann added, understanding what Ren and Morgana were talking about.

"A-Are you all alright? Why are you talking to Ren's cat?" Makoto asked, worried that the encounter with the mafia has sent her classmates into a daze.

"No, we're fine. Just...

Just follow us..." Ren said as he motioned the group to Shibuya Square, dreading to enter the palace, this time, with Makoto in tow.

Memorized, that's the best word Ren could describe for what he was feeling right now, he was fearful of Makoto getting hurt in the Palace, yet here she was destroying multiple shadows like a seasoned professional.

"I will not lose heart again, never! I'll go full speed non-stop! Right, Johanna!?" Makoto yelled out before barreling towards the group of Oni and Sui Ki. Ren broke out of his trance yelling to the thieves to help Makoto in battle. "Let's help her with her spotlight guys!" 

Ren lead the thieves alongside Makoto, swiftly defeating the incoming Shadows leaving the pudgy form of Kaneshiro's shadow standing alone in front of the thieves. As much as Ren wanted to take on Kaneshiro now, he knew Makoto had to be running on fumes at this point. "We know how to get it in now! Mission's complete!" Ren yelled out as he surveyed the surrounding area, looking for any possible escape routes. 

"But how are we getting out?" Ann responded back, unsure of how to get past the guards in front of the entrance. "There's only one exit right?" Makoto asked while revving her Persona's engine. "So you're totally the Fist of the Phantom Star now huh?" Ryuji asked, ignoring the perilous situation they were all trapped in.

Makoto bluntly responded to Ryuji's little quip, "Do you wanna get smacked?" Makoto revved her Persona, turning it to face the entrance, "I'm going on ahead! Follow me!" Makoto said as her Persona burst forward, breaking through the line of guards in front of the entrance and the entrance itself, leaving the doorway destroyed behind her. 

'Huh, so this is what these emotions feel like.' Ren thought to himself watching Makoto speed through the lobby of the bank. "Mona! Car form, now!" Joker ordered as the Mona transformed to escape from the short lived palace visit. 

Making it back to the ground from the elevated bank, the group quickly ran out of the Metaverse, taking a break at their hideout in the Access-way. "That was no aikido! That was some hard-core ass whoppin!" Ryuji yelled out as Makoto knelt on the floor recovering.

"I am so not pissing her off, feel like she would rip arm off..." Ann said baffled at Makoto's sudden mood shift in battle.

"She does exude that aura." Yusuke said, Ren on the other hand was silent, dealing with the whirlwind of emotions going through his mind. Ren's little crush evolved tonight, seeing Makoto light up during her awakening showed Ren a completely new side of her, and he loved it. "Please stop..." Makoto finally said, catching her breath. It was clear she didn't like being praised for showing this side of herself.

"I've never been more exhausted in my life, but that felt really great." Makoto said while getting back to her feet. "To think I'd become a part of the Phantom Thieves, sis might faint if she found out." 

"You mentioned her earlier." Yusuke said.

"My sister is a prosecutor of this district and is investigating the Phantom Thieves case." 

"Wait, ain't that bad!?" Ryuji blurted out. 

"No need to worry. A normal investigation would never lead them to a world like that. Though I guess it was fate for this to happen."

"What do you mean?" Ann asked.

"I had a feeling there would come a time where me and my sister wouldn't see eye to eye anymore. I can't be like my sister, and after hearing my Persona's voice, I understand completely how I feel now." Makoto said with a newfound confidence. 

"It appears you're not as reserved as we first thought." Yusuke said with a soft smile.

"I was just doing what the adults told me to." 

Ren finally broke his silence, thinking in the background of this entire situation, he realized that the Thieves needed Makoto. Ren had been thinking about his tenure as leader of the Thieves and while he was good at on the fly decisions and keeping the group motivated, his long term strategy in palaces never amounted to more than get as far as possible each day. They, no HE needed someone who was much better at long term strategy than him. "I want you to be our advisor, I'm not that great at our long term strategy and I think you're perfect for the role." 

"Sounds good to me! We've needed someone like that for a while!" Ryuji said.

"I'd be honored if I can help out." Makoto said.

"We've had way too much testosterone anyway, it feels good t-" Ann said while getting cut off by the sound of Makoto's message tone going off. 

"It's Kaneshiro reminding me of our debt. So the Kaneshiro of this world has no idea of what happens in that world..." Makoto said with contempt in her voice.

Morgana popped out from Ren's bag, "That's right, but the palace will be affected if this world's Kaneshiro's cognition changes. We can't be lax." 

"Probably best to avoid all contact with him for now then." Makoto said while ignoring Kaneshiro's messages.

"3 weeks left huh." Ryuji muttered.

"But, if we pull this off, it'll be great for us!" Ann said, trying to lift the mood of the conversation.

"I'll crush him like a fly, I'll make him regret making me angry..." Makoto said with fire in her eyes, Ren was realizing a lot about himself as Makoto broke more and more out of her shell.

"I like the enthusiasm, the infiltration to find a route to the treasure starts tomorrow. Let's all get some rest, we need it after today." Ren said trying to excuse himself or else he might explode from the emotions swirling within him. Thankfully the thieves all agreed and broke up to head home.

Ren fell onto his bed, he was exhausted, mentally and physically. Today was a long day and he needed to rest but he couldn't sleep, he couldn't get his mind off of Makoto. Ren desperately wanted to just sleep and focus on the mission so they could get Kaneshiro off their backs' but his heart and mind were distracting him. Suddenly, he heard his phone ping with a message.

_Dad: Hey buddy, what's up?_

A talk with his dad might just be what Ren needs right now. 

_Ren: Long day, but I made some progress with that girl I told you about._

_Dad: Really? What happened?_

_Ren: Not much, she's just become a part of the friend group now, we hung out as a group today._

_Dad: That's my boy, when you asking her out?_

_Ren: Not sure, emotions are kinda running high right now, getting to know her is making me feel really awkward._

It wasn't a total lie, seeing a new side of Makoto was making him feel new feelings, the outfit didn't help much...

_Dad: Just gotta have that confidence buddy, I saw the way you carried yourself around your friends. You're growing into yourself when you're with them, just gotta carry that over to talking to her too._

_Ren: I'll try to keep that in mind, thanks Dad. It's late so I'm gonna go to bed._

_Dad: Good night buddy, hope every works out with that girl and you._

Ren placed his phone on the window sill and closed his eyes his mind and body needed a break, hopefully with Makoto on the team, the infiltration will go even smoother than the previous two palaces.

6/20

Makoto was even better at this than Ren had originally thought, with Makoto's strategies, the Thieves had managed to find the treasure in only two trips to the Palace. Makoto's advice on when to take on or just sneak past shadows, her perfect planning of when to use healing items allowed the team to expertly navigate the palace while staying in top condition, only needing to break for a few days to venture into Mementos for supplies and cash. Makoto seemed to take her code name, Queen, and took the role of second in command well. Ren had internally slapped himself for suggesting Queen as he felt it made his feelings a little too obvious, though Makoto seemed none the wiser. 

The Thieves sat in the Access-way discussing how they would get the calling card to Kaneshiro, as going back to his club seemed like a recipe for disaster. The group sat in silence until Makoto finally spoke up, "Kaneshiro has members of his gang all over Shibuya, why not leave a bunch of calling cards around the city for one of his goons to find?"

"That's perfect, he's kept his name out of the public eye for so long that leaving them around town will also shatter his anonymity. Morgana can you leave the cards around town?" Ren asked.

"Of course I can! Who do you think you're talking to?" Morgana responded boldly.

"Alright then, let's get to work on getting that calling card out there. We take Kaneshiro's heart tomorrow!"

6/21

Kaneshiro sat in the back of his club, simply waiting until those kids he blackmailed ran out of time, they'd make him good money working for him for sure. Suddenly, one of his goons busted through the door, out of breath. "The hell's wrong with you!?" Kaneshiro yelled out. 

The goon suddenly stood straight up, a look of fear in his eyes. "I'm sorry sir but, you might wanna see this!" The goon said while handing Kaneshiro one of the calling cards. Kaneshiro took the card and began reading it aloud, "Sir Junya Kaneshiro, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony. You indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods that target minors exclusively. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From, The Phantom Thieves." Kaneshiro's bored expression changed to one of anger, how the hell did this group know his name? "Where did you find this!?" Kaneshiro roared out.

The goon spoke up, "I found it on the car outside, but everyone is saying they're finding copies of it all over Shibuya!" 

Kaneshiro spoke up again, "You make sure these cards all come back to me, got it!?" 

"Y-Yes sir!"

Kaneshiro stood alone in his club office, fists clenched and anger growing. "Phantom Thieves? Don't make me laugh." Kaneshiro's shadow said as his palace went on high alert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey that took a while! I'm sorry for the delay if you've been anticipating this chapter, work and life over the last month and a half have just left me really unmotivated to write whenever I had any free time. Now though? I think I'm back in the swing of things!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with Kaneshiro leads to Ren taking a severe injury, which leads Ren to discover just how caring Makoto can be.

Ren and the others found themselves in the center of Kaneshiro's palace, a elaborate safe with the treasure hidden deep inside. Kaneshiro appeared before them, awaiting the thieves. "I'm surprised you made it here alive. You all are quite lucky." Kaneshiro spat out. 

"Lucky? Don't be ridiculous." Makoto returned the comment in kind. "We're here to take your heart and make you confess to everything you've done! That'll free everyone suffering cause of you, even the police can't catch ya so they'll believe in us too!" Ryuji yelled out. 

"I went through shit my entire life! It's my turn to profit on everyone else!" Kaneshiro desperately trying to justify his actions. 

"You're nothing but a pathetic coward profiting on the weak!" Ren responded. 

"That's how the real world works! The powerful thrive and stomp all over the weak!" Kaneshiro said as a dark aura sounded his feet.

"Would you shut it already!" Ryuji yelled out as the aura around Kaneshiro suddenly rushed into his body. 

"This is where my gracious lecture ends" Kaneshiro said while laughing maniacally, "I'm gonna swarm all over you, and squeeze you for every penny you're worth!" Kaneshiro's body suddenly went limp, the black aura enveloping his form. Wings suddenly sprung forth from Kaneshiro's back, his eyes changing into those of a fly's. "I can take care of this myself, what's up yo! Now come get some."

Makoto suddenly summoned Johanna, revving the engine to prepare for battle, "You damn fly on dirty money, get the hell outta my face!" Ren smirked at Makoto's rally for battle, knowing she was about to unleash nuclear hell on the bug before them. "Alright everyone, let's begin!" Ren yelled out readying his weapon.

The team of thieves lined up, unleashing their attacks on Kaneshiro, wiping the floor with him almost. The Shadow seemed particularly weak compared to the two previous rulers they had battled before. Ren thought this was suspicious, something must be hidden up his sleeve. While not up his sleeves, Kaneshiro certainly had something hidden in his safe. "Tch, you punks are tougher than you look. But I'm not done yet!" Kaneshiro flew up as the safe slowly opened, revealing a gigantic mech shaped like a giant piggy-bank. 

"Gahahaha! Behold my piggy-tron! You don't stand a change against me now!" Kaneshiro spouted from the loudspeaker of his mech. Ren realized quickly that the mech was packing some serious fire power, noticing the giant holes with mini guns stationed within them. 

"Queen! Give everyone a round of defense! This thing has some power behind it!" Ren yelled out before summoning Oni to try and break through with raw power. Makoto quickly gave everyone the defense they needed, as Kaneshiro went on the attack, firing a barrage of gunfire at the entire group. Ren unable to avoid a lot of the fire due to just recovering from his onslaught with Oni. 

"Joker!" Ann yelled out while casting a healing spell on Joker, Ryuji running up to help his friend back up to his feet. "You alright man!? That was a nasty attack you just took? 

"I'm fine," Ren responded, "The pig just caught me off guard is all." Suddenly, the mech's action came to a grinding halt. "You punks are really irritating! Who are you calling a pig!? Piggy-tron! Super VIP Form!" Kaneshiro emerged from the mech as it pulled in all of its limbs, taking the form of a ball with Kaneshiro running on top of it. 

"Well shit that looks like a problem" Ren said frankly, "Everyone hang back! If we get hit by that attack we're done for!" Ren said while strafing around the giant mech until Makoto grabbed his attention. "Joker! He's all about valuable items right? How about we grab his attention and get him away from the mech?" Ren smiled at the prospect, "This is why you're our strategist, you send out the bait and I'll focus on the second phase of the plan." 

"Second phase? What do you mean?" Makoto asked worryingly. Ren chuckled as he threw his grappling hook up behind Kaneshiro's position, "Wouldn't wanna ruin the wow factor now would I?" Ren said while he was dragged to the position of the hook. Makoto sighed at Ren's actions, worried what kind of idea he had. Steeling herself, Makoto took out a revival bead and yelled out to grab Kaneshiro's attention, "Hey! Kaneshiro! I'm sure this is worth a lot of money!" Makoto said as she threw the bead right in front of the piggy-tron. 

"Oh shit! That thing is worth a fortune!" Kaneshiro said as he took the bait completely, flying down to grab the item, before turning around with some amount of horror in his bug eyes. Ren was falling from the ceiling, with Oni summoned right behind him, prepping a massive attack. "I think this will do for your fly swatter! Oni! Smash that thing away!" The red monster readied it's gigantic sword, before unleashing the blunt end to send Kaneshiro's attack right back at him. The piggy-tron speeding through the battle arena, running over Kaneshiro and smashing through the wall and landing in the cognitive Shibuya below. 

With Kaneshiro knocked down, Ren rallied the team together, "Thieves! Hold'em up!" Kaneshiro sat helpless as he was surrounded by the 6 thieves. "Y-You can't do this! I deserve these riches!" Kaneshiro said in a desperate plea. "These riches belong to the people you've long exploited! You will know our justice now! Let's wipe him out!" Makoto said leading the charge of the final all out attack. After a barrage of slashes and punches, Kaneshiro's shadow was defeated.

"I'll let you in on a little secret." Kaneshiro's shadow said as Ryuji and Yusuke loaded the gold into the back of Mona's bus form. "Oh really now?" Ren said with a cautious tone. "There's a criminal out there already using palaces do to whatever they damn well please. They don't care about any of the consequences. Mental shutdowns, psychotic breakdowns...

It all goes." Kaneshiro said with a disturbing glee in his voice. "The person in the Black Mask, could that be them?" Ren said under his breath, his thoughts a mess of possibilities as to the identity of the mysterious criminal. 

"Spill it! Tell us who it is!" Ryuji said, dropping the giant gold bar into the trunk. 

Kaneshiro's shadow let out a laugh, "Don't bother, they're way beyond what you are. Best to stay away, a chance encounter with them could be fatal." Kaneshiro's shadow dissipated from the room. The entire palace began to quake with its ruler vanishing, "We can think about that later, let's grab the treasure and go!" Yusuke said while running back to the last piece of gold. The thieves loaded into the Mona van with treasure in tow, with only one problem.

"How are we gonna get outta here!? We're deep underneath any exits!" Ann yelled while hopping in the back seat. Ren's thoughts suddenly went back to the battle with Kamoshida, could he maybe?

"Queen step on it! Speed through the hole in the wall!" Ren yelled while preparing himself. "What!? Are you crazy!?" Makoto spouted back. "I need you to trust me! We don't have much time!" Ren said back with a pleading look in his eyes. Makoto took a deep breath as she floored the gas pedal, speeding the bus towards the hole the mech had made. 

_**Be prepared for this strain my other-self.**_

Just before the Bus had reached the opening, Ren suddenly took his hand to his mask, calling out Arsène once more. "Arsène! Grab the bus and spread your wings!" Arsène appeared above the bus, clutching the roof of the vehicle and catching the wind in his wings as he guided the bus down to the ground level. Ren on the other hand felt his arms being dragged to the floor of the bus, his arms in absolute agony as he supported the bus down to the Earth. "Ren!? Are you insane!? Your arms!" Makoto yelled out beyond concerned, completely forgetting code names in her panic. 

"M-My arms will be fine! I just gotta get us down to the ground!" Ren shouted back, he could feel the muscles in his forearm nearly give as the bus thankfully reached the ground. Just in time to reach the exit of the palace as they emerged once more in Shibuya Square.

Inside his room at Leblanc, Ren thought he had escaped incredibly loud rants directed at him back at his mother's house. Clearly at this moment, he was wrong.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU REN!?" Makoto screamed as Ren sat on his couch, ice packs over his two forearms. The other thieves sitting across the room, abandoning Ren to escape whatever wrath Makoto was unleashing on him. 

"I told you Makoto I'm fine." He really wasn't, Ren was fairly certain at least a few muscles in both his arms were torn. Makoto wasn't buying his act however, forcing him to relax with the ice packs practically crushing his arms into the couch.

"Really now? You're fine? Trying making a fist with one of your hands then." Makoto said while crossing her arms, glaring at Ren with a coldness that could intimidate even a shadow. Ren loved the stare she would give but being on the receiving end of one felt like being crushed by an elephant. 

"I can make a fist just fine!" He couldn't, his face contorting in all sorts of pained expressions as he clenched his fists. "Ok fine maybe I'm not okay." Ren finally admitted as he stopped fighting back against Makoto. 

Makoto closed her eyes and sighed, sitting down on the couch next to Ren. "Look Ren, we all appreciate all that you do for us all, Ann, Ryuji and Yusuke have told me all sorts of things you've been helping with over these past few months. But you need to know that you don't need to shoulder everything on your own, your willingness to be the pillar everyone needs is making you make rash decisions in the moment without informing us. I know I'm not one to talk on criticizing you for that but, we're all a team now. You can rely on us all as well." Makoto said in a more gentle tone while looking Ren in the eye. Ren could swear that if he moved any of the several ice packs on his arms to his face right now they'd melt instantly. 

Trying to regain his composure, "U-uh yeah I'll do that. I'm sorry for worrying you all, really." 

Makoto smiled at his response, "Good, because you aren't allowed to go to Mementos until I know you've recovered." 

Ren simply sighed in compliance, "Yes Queen." Ren suddenly stiffened up as blush emerged on both his and Makoto's face the two of them looking away from each other to try and diffuse the awkward moment. Ann giggling on the other side of the room at how obvious it was, on both sides.

6/22

Ren walked out of his classroom as the school day came to a close, feeling a little aimless as the group waited for an announcement of Kaneshiro's arrest. As he emerged from the classroom he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. 

_Makoto: Now that Kaneshiro has called off the debt I'd like to relax after everything we've done. I'll be around the student council office if you'd like to visit._

'Well Ren, this is your chance.' Ren thought to himself before heading to the student council room, nervousness consuming his entire body. Ren went upstairs to find Makoto standing in front of the Student Council Room, looking a bit on edge. "Hey Makoto, you look a bit on edge, what's up?" 

Makoto stiffened at Ren's introduction, "O-Oh Ren! I'm fine, just a little nervous about the change of heart is all..." 

"Hey, Kaneshiro contacted you himself to say the debt was called off and he was turning himself in correct?" 

"Yes but, couldn't he be lying?" 

"His palace disappeared Makoto, that much of a change to a person's cognition will have a major effect on them." 

"I suppose you're right, thank you Ren. How are your arms by the way?" 

"Better than they were yesterday, still kinda stings to make a fist though." Ren said while lifting his hand up to show as an example. 

"Oh, I suppose my idea can wait then..." Makoto said mumbling to herself.

Ren made a confused look as he heard her say that, "What's your idea?"

"O-Oh I-I..." Makoto said, surprised Ren was able to hear her. 

"Come on Makoto, I know you said to take it easy for a couple days but now you've got me curious." 

Makoto let out a sigh, "After seeing everyone else pursuing their own interests, I've realized I'm really out of touch with the rest of my fellow students. I was wondering if you could help me understand what other people are doing in their free time."

Ren was a bit taken aback by this, "I-I see. How about we go to the arcade then? Me and Ryuji go there every now and then, I see a lot of Shujin students there whenever I go." 

"An arcade huh...

That sounds interesting. Will you lead the way then?" Makoto said with a smile, Ren suddenly felt his face grow hotter. "A-Alright then! I'll lead the way!" Ren said with a distinct nervousness in his voice.

'How the hell did I just do that? Did she just ask me on a date?' Ren thought to himself, unsure what just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna stop saying I'm back in the groove of writing. Though with this chapter, a sudden move to another house definitely lead to a lot of delays. Hoping to get more chapters out soon as the next couple will focus on Ren and Makoto.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren assists Makoto with another third year in a suspicious situation. While doing so however, the two of them enter a brand new chapter of their lives.

6/26 

Ren found himself paired with Makoto in the Student Council Room, staring down a third year student he didn't know at all. Makoto had spotted her in Shinjuku the previous day, working at a maid cafe. A high schooler working such a position concerned Makoto and she wished to ask her about her job. Ren wasn't quite sure why he was there if he was being honest with himself, the way Eiko described her job didn't quite sound like anything harmful. The odd old pervert here and there but that wasn't anything her manager couldn't deal with on their own. Ren found himself blankly staring at the wall behind Eiko until he was shocked out of his daze by an off hand comment. 

"So you gonna tell on me? You even brought a witness... 

Does that mean the two of you were in Shinjuku together? What's up with that Miss Prez?" 

Ren stammered out a response, "I-It's not like that, we were just hanging out is all." 

"Yes, he simply accompanied me on an errand I wished to run yesterday. As for you, I don't plan on telling anyone." Makoto speaking with perfect candor. Ren was shocked at how flustered he got at that comment, 'Dammit, why am I so tense? I'm never like this!'

 _**Your heart has been smitten trickster, your feelings for The Priestess are unfamiliar to it, leaving you a bumbling fool.** _

Ren attempted to rebuke his other-self, 'I'm not stupid when it comes to romance Arsene, I know what I'm doing.' 

"I just realized, your boyfriend is the criminal transfer student! You're such a badass Miss Prez!" Eiko spoke with a bubbly tone.

Feeling his entire body heat up from embarrassment, Ren admitted defeat to Arsene. 'Maybe I have a lot to learn about romance...'

6/28

Ren thought he knew embarrassment, from speaking broken Japanese on his first day at his new school when first moving to Japan, to hearing his record being spoken aloud all throughout Shujin. Now however, he was shown that he knew nothing about true embarrassment. 

"I-I-I'm sorry come again?" Ren stammered out, baffled at Makoto's suggestion to help Eiko out.

"For this investigation, I'll need you to play the role of my b-boyfriend..." Makoto said once again, blush slowly adorning her face. Ren not even noticing Makoto's own stammering at her suggestion. 

'I'm going to screw this up. I'm going to screw this up. I'm going to screw this up and Makoto will hate me.' Ren's thoughts kept repeating in his head, these few seconds between sentences feeling like an eternity. His thoughts were suddenly cut off by Arsene blaring his voice through Ren's soul. 

_**To think my other-self could be so fearful of thine own possible actions. You must be a true debonair and show your Priestess what a gentleman thief truly is!** _

With Ren's resolve boosted by what he thought was Arsene's encouragement, he calmed himself to answer Makoto's request. "Only if I get to take it seriously." Ren spoke in a smooth tone, somehow burying his previous flustered state deep within himself. 

"Huh? What do you mean by that? Oh, you're also worried about Eiko as well. How nice of you." 

"This host dude sounds pretty weird from your description, I think it's our duty to at least investigate him to make sure he's not hurting Eiko." 

"I'm truly thankful you're so willing to help. To tell the truth, I had already made plans for a double date with Eiko so I was really relying on you saying yes."

"Arsene is the gentleman thief after all, best I embody him." Ren said with a confident smile. 

Makoto couldn't help but smile at that little comment, "I think having the confidence of Joker in this situation will help a lot, thank you again Ren..."

Ren and Makoto parted ways, agreeing to meet at the Shibuya diner the two of them frequented the next day. Once Ren had left Makoto's sight however, he had lost his confidence and become flustered all over again. Ren had to cancel his meeting with Ohya as he couldn't handle anything else at the moment, his mind being a mess of nervousness. Running straight home to Leblanc, Ren fell onto his bed, shoving his head into his pillow. He was unsure how long he had laid there, he was broken out of his haze by being kneaded by a pair of cat paws on his back. 

"Ren come on, get up." Morgana said, trying to get his leader up for once. 

"Leave me alone Morgana. I need to think." 

"Come on Ren, if this is about Makoto then I will give all the advice you need. A gentleman such as myself knows his way around the ladies." 

"I'm not about to taking advice about women from my cat."

"How many times do I need to say it!? I am-"

"Not a cat I know I know." Ren said as he pushed his face back into the pillow until he came to a realization. "I know who I could ask for advice from though." Ren sat back up from his bed, reaching for his phone.

_Ren: Ann, I need your help._

_Ann: It's about Makoto isn't it?_

_Ren: Wha-_

_How'd you know?_

_Ann: A girl has her ways..._

_Plus I saw the two of you talking after school and you didn't look like your calm self. What was the conversation about?_

Ren sighed at the fact he was spotted, thankful at least it was by someone who already knew of his predicament and not Ryuji or Yusuke. Ryuji would more than likely tease him relentlessly for it and Yusuke would want a painting of Ren's fearful expression for some art piece.

_Ren: So this is gonna sound weird._

Ren explained the entire situation to Ann, to Eiko's situation with this Tsukasa guy, to Makoto's request of Ren playing the role of her boyfriend. 

_Ann: You're right the entire situation does sound weird. So, what did you need my help with?_

_Ren: I..._

_don't know actually. I thought I would ask you what being in a relationship was like so I could play the role better?_

_Ann: Ren, have you not been in a relationship before?_

_Ren: You have to remember you guys are the first friends I've made since I moved to Japan._

_Ann: Ah right. Well the longest relationship I've had lasted 2 weeks so I can't say I could be much help there._

_Ren: Oh, I see. Well thanks for listening at least..._

_Ann: Wait, I think I do have one piece of advice at least._

_Ren: What's that?_

_Ann: Take the act seriously. Act the way you would if she was your girlfriend._

_Ren: I think I get what you're saying. Thanks Ann, that might actually help a lot._

_Ann: No problem. Good luck with all that Ren._

After thinking about what "Take the act seriously" meant, Ren went downstairs to learn some more coffee recipes from Sojiro. Ren had the feeling he's gonna need a lot of caffeine tomorrow.

6/29

'Makoto's instinct was right about one thing, this dude seems like a major dickhead.' Ren thought as he sat across Eiko and Tsukasa. The ladder having a smug look of entitlement the entire time, Ren knew he was good at reading people, and what he read on Tsukasa was a manipulative prick. 

"Sorry, hafta use the bathroom." Eiko said before walking away from the booth. "Later lovebird." Tsukasa said, almost trying to scream to the world he was actually serious.

Makoto spoke up once Eiko was out of earshot, "Um, there's something I'd like to ask of you. Are you serious about your relationship with Eiko?"

"Aha, and the honor student finally shows her true colors. Eiko was mentioning how you were super pumped about meeting me, why's that?" 

"...I just wanted to make sure you were good for her." 

"Daaaaamn girl, you really care about your friends. Speakin of which, any friend of my girlfriend is a friend of mine, how about you gimme your digits?"

"H-huh?" Makoto stammered out as Ren's anger built further and further, every word out of this guy's mouth sounded so fake and hollow, and now he was trying to push Makoto to give him her number. 

"C'mon, gimme your number." Tsukasa said in a slimy tone. 

"I-I..." Makoto stammered out, not being able to handle Tsukasa's bizarre advances.

'That's it.' Ren thought. "How about I give you my number." Ren said while taking out his phone. 

"Nobody asked you four eyes." 

"And you'd better watch your mouth dickhead." Ren spat back coldly. Leaving the table at a tense standstill, with Ren and Tsukasa staring each other down with the harshest looks they both could muster. Before Makoto finally broke the silence, "Oh my sister's home from work early, sorry to cut this short but I need to get home." Makoto said motioning Ren to also leave with her. 

Makoto texted Eiko to apologize for the abrupt ending of the double date, once she and Ren had walked to the Subway entrance, she finally drilled into Ren. "Ren what was that about!?"

"The guy was being a creep to you, so I did my job and stopped him from being a creep any longer. 

"Ren, I wanted to get his number to continue my investigation." 

Ren suddenly snapped out of the boyfriend act, he screwed up Makoto's entire plan. "O-Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know."

Makoto sighed, "You're fine Ren, I thought what you did was very sweet, but please think about what you're saying a bit more..." 

Just as Makoto had finished saying that however, her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Oh, looks like Tsukasa got my number after all. He sent me a message apologizing for calling you four eyes with a bunch of typos and stars." Makoto said with her confusion building further and further. 

"I think it's best we split for the day and regroup tomorrow to discuss what to do next." Makoto said as she stared at her phone continuing to buzz with messages from Tsukasa.

"I think so too, see you tomorrow Makoto." Ren walked away, chastising himself the entire way home.

7/2

Ren and Makoto once again found themselves in the student council rooms discussing Tsukasa, who had been texting Makoto incessantly everyday. While the messages annoyed Ren, he had to admit there wasn't anything super suspicious about his behavior to Makoto, just annoying behavior. 

"Was I biased to think all he wanted from Eiko was her money?" 

"No I don't think so, those host guys always seem really suspicious. Their job is to get money out of being fake boyfriends after all."

"The whole situation does sound like a TV show, a lying host extorting girls, making them sell their bodies..." Makoto said before sitting back into the couch behind her. "The thing is, those stories do exist in our reality, my father would tell me stories of the horrors he saw in Shinjuku. My father was going after a gang that did that when..."

Ren sighed as he leaned into the table, "When he died?" 

Makoto curled her arms into herself before grimacing, "When he was killed..."

That part Ren hadn't known, he had thought Makoto's father had died of some unfortunate health problem, not killed. "How'd that happen?" 

"While investigating he was struck by an errant truck, the driver had drugs in his bloodstream and was also killed on impact." 

"Was the driver part of any gang?" 

"It was believed so, after that the Shinjuku clean up efforts happened. Those gangs were driven back into the shadows. I'm not sure if any of that would have happened if it wasn't for the incident with my father..."

"He sounds like a noble man to me. Just a guy hoping to make the world a better place for people."

"Yes, I strive to be like him in my future. That drive he had, I think it's what made my sister pursue becoming a prosecutor. I think my sister has forgotten that though. Since his death and becoming the main support pillar of our family, all she does is talk down of our father, saying things like death is even worse than surrender..."

"You think there's anything more to that than stress?"

Makoto stiffened at Ren's question, "Now that you say it, I suppose her being older and more aware of our father's work could have led to some internal resentment. Even when he was alive I would get lonely a lot of the time. Ever since losing mom, my father would work incredible hours to support me and sis..."

Ren felt unsure of what to say anymore, he was scared he was diving too deep into Makoto's family life and could take something too far, until the answer came to him. "He must have been happy to do that for you two."

Makoto gave some pause to Ren's remark, after a few seconds Ren continued, "Here, let me give an example. When my parents divorced and my mom got me, my dad didn't let that moment define our relationship and leave me without a father. He chose to continue being a part of my life, even if that meant staying up incredible hours on the other side of the world if I needed him at any moment."

Makoto seemed to loosen up at Ren's example, "That reminds me of something my father always told me. 'The most important part of your life is how you choose to live it.'" Makoto stiffened up again after quoting her father, "But, how have I chosen to live? How do I want to even live?"

"You still have that choice to make, we have all our lives ahead of us. There's no need to let that get to all of us this early in our lives."

"You're right, I still have my path in life to choose, no matter how long it takes. I remember when all I wanted to do is pursue the path my sister laid out for me, wanting to ease whatever burden I could off her." Makoto suddenly stopped, "O-Oh right we were supposed to be talking about Eiko here." 

Ren laughed and shrugged, "It's fine, I liked that talk. Your father sounds like he was a really good guy." 

Makoto just smiled, "Thank you Ren, from you that means a lot."

7/4

Whatever doubts Ren had about Tsukasa's character had gone into the garbage. The story of the sake bottle Eiko had told him and Makoto sounded way too suspicious, and sure enough Ren and Makoto were correct. 

"Tsukasa is pulling the sake bottle scam again? I got one piece of advice kid, get that girl outta there. First it's a sake bottle, then it's rent, then it's a car. That dude is shit, and that girl is in trouble." 

This testimony was enough for Ren and Makoto to call Eiko and catch her before her shift, to once again tell her with proof that Tsukasa needs to go. Sadly however, Eiko wouldn't listen, especially when Tsukasa had strolled up to join this intervention.

"They were saying some bad stuff about you honey, like selling girls off to use their bodies, they're lying about that right?" Eiko said.

"You believe that crap? Come on, I'd never do that to you princess." Tsukasa said with the most superficial concern Ren thought humanly possible.

"It's always princess with you isn't it? Why don't you call her by her real name? Or are there too many princesses in your life to keep track of?" Makoto said in a somewhat mocking tone, the insult clearing striking a nerve in Tsukasa as his expression changed from content smugness to one of panic. 

"Tsukasa?" Eiko said questioningly. 

"What are you freaking out over? You just texted me! I'd never forget your name Makoto." Tsukasa blurting out, leaving Eiko surprised and heartbroken. 

"I was the one who texted you Tsukasa. Admit it, you only use your "Princesses" for their money and bodies. Don't you see Eiko? This is who your "boyfriend" is!" Makoto yelled out, desperately trying to get through to Eiko.

"B-but you tricked him! Tsukasa's all I have! Just leave me alone you bitch!" Eiko said as tears welled up in her eyes. Then in a move that stunned Ren and Tsukasa, Makoto marched up to Eiko and slapped her across the face.

"Wake up! You know the truth but you're blinding yourself to the obvious! He's just here to hurt you and you need to leave him!" Makoto continued the cry out, just wanting Eiko to listen.

Eiko, recovering from the slap, gave Tsukasa a confused look before turning away from everyone, "B-but Tsukasa is the only one who cares about me, a perfect student who lives up to everyone's expectations could never understand how I feel! So stop feeding me your honor student bullshit!"

"This has nothing to do with honor student, I just can't rest knowing there's such evil in the world. And I'll make damn sure not to be quiet when my friend is having her life ruined!" Makoto passionately yelled out, before turning her attention to Tsukasa again. "And you! Apologize to Eiko and stay away from her from now on!"

Tsukasa's face contorted into a mess of anger, "You're starting to annoy me you bitch! Don't think I'll go easy on you just cause you're a chick!" Tsukasa spat out before approaching Makoto. Ren, being a background spectator up to this point finally acted, only seeing one thing in his vision right now, a man about to hurt Makoto. Before Tsukasa had finished taking two steps, Ren punched him square in the jaw, knocking the pompous host down onto the concrete below. 

"R-Ren!?" Makoto yelled out in shock at Ren's sudden act. Ren himself wasn't sure what he was doing either at this point, another assault charge is not what he needed right now, but his mind was clouded with only one goal. 

"What the hell? Oh it's on no-" Tsukasa said from the ground before making eye contact with Ren, delivering a stare he reserved for intimidating shadow.

Ren knelt down, getting face to face with Tsukasa. "I'm gonna let in on something Tsukasa, Makoto would kick your ass in a second if you even laid a finger on her. I on the other hand would have to take my time, so I'm gonna give you this chance to run and stay away from Eiko. Before I put you out of a job for good." This threat appeared to work, as without saying anything, Tsukasa scrambled up from the ground and ran off into the distance. 

Makoto's shocked expression changed to one of satisfaction, "Looks like he wasn't so tough after all huh."

"Ugh this sucks!" Eiko huffed as she ran into her job.

"E-Eiko!" Makoto yelled out.

The reality of what had just happened dawned on Ren, panic taking over his mind. "W-We should probably get out of here. I think people are staring. Follow me."

Ren had lead Makoto to Crossroads, seeing as it was the only safe haven in Shinjuku available to him. Lala was more than eager to welcome him and Makoto in to wait for the situation to settle down. 

"Why did I do that? Why did I do that? Why did I do that?" Ren repeatedly said for what seemed like several minutes in his mind. Terrified of what possible repercussions could come from his actions against Tsukasa. It was only when Makoto broke through his thoughts that Ren stopped repeating himself.

"Ren please calm down, you'll be okay I'm sure of it. I don't think Tsukasa will go to the police considering the kind of person he is." Makoto was right, of course Tsukasa wouldn't go to the police. 

"Yeah, yeah of course. Sorry I just, thought about my probation and got worried."

"I don't blame you, honestly it's hard to believe you're a high schooler sometimes. You seem to have so much more life experience than me."

"I'd say a lot of that experience has been gained over the last 4 months." Ren said while laughing. 

"Honestly you helping me with Eiko has given me a lot to think about. Having my head in the books has made me miss a lot in life. There are somethings I can't learn on my own."

Ren's heart beat started racing, anticipating Makoto's next words, 'W-Wait, is she?' he thought.

"Do you remember how Eiko said I'd flunk the test of love? I'm not quite sure how to study that...

What should I do Ren?" Makoto said in a near pleading tone. This was the moment, Ren had to be honest with her, he needed to do this right.

"I'll be your study partner." And he screwed it up, 'What kind of corny line was that!? I'm so fucked.'

Makoto didn't have the reaction Ren expected, her face covered in a deep red blush. "U-Um, I'm not well versed in these matters so allow me to confirm this.

Do you like me?"

Ren felt like an anvil had been lifted off his shoulders, all stress had left his mind. "Yes, I think I've liked you for quite a while."

Makoto's face was entirely red at this point, along side Ren's. "O-Oh, well then if it's alright with you, I'd like to start dating for real now..."

Ren let a little laugh escape his lips, unsure how he lucked out to enter a relationship with Makoto. 

"Yeah, yeah that's alright by me.

Great even."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey this is the fastest turn around I've had since starting! Longest chapter too! Kinda proud of this one so be sure to lemme know what you think!


End file.
